Spirits of the Earth

Miersck had been traveling for too many days and was exhausted, crabby and wanting nothing more than a bite to eat.  He normally traveled by foot, and wished he could actually use his wings, but decided against it because he was in unknown territory with craggy rocks jutting out from green hill sides, that cast the land in foreboding shadows as the sun began to wane over head.
He would have preferred to travel by night, as his senses were more acute, but found it increasingly difficult the deeper he found lost in these unknown lands.

A river was nearby, that he could hear, so perhaps his stomach would at least settle for a drink as he made his way pass a large crop of rocks. On the other side, tall grasses and trees lined the edge of a slope that lead downwards into the open mouth of a shallow, but wide stream.
Shuffling beneath his hooded cloak, which was worn loose across his body and hung low over his eyes, hiding all features of his face, from the golden-reds of his eyes, to the unique, pointy-ness of his ears. It also hid the more angular look to his eyes, the point to his chin, and, more suspiciously so, the lump against his back, which is where his wings remained, crumpled uncomfortably against his backside.  Once adjusted, he moved onward.

He knew the dangers of his kind, which were said, in these lands, to be extinct.   Though, he was thankful no one was around when he approached the water, he got to his knees in the cool, shallow watersa nd began scooping it into his mouth.  Cool, and refreshing. As much as he despised water, it sure hit the spot and he fished for a gourd inside his cloak and dipped it into the waters, re-filling it so he'd have some supply for his trip.

Where was he going? He hadn't a clue, but figured as far away from the death and decay of the ancient forest.  Though this area lacked alot of the density of the trees from his home, he was thankful the stupid beings here hadn't cut down all of the good trees, but most of the trees here appeared centuries younger than the ones he was familiar with from home.


Rising, he wiped his lips with the back of his hand and scouted the area.
He needed something to eat, and spotted a patch of red berries on the other side of the stream.  Then he looked down at the water. His two feet were only in it, inches deep, but even still, he wrinkled his nose.  He wasn't about to cross on foot.  Who knew how deep the water went, and you might not undersatnd it, but it was the MOSt uncomfortable feeling for a moth fae when their hair and wings got wet.  The powder made them impossibly heavy and sticky... and well, gross.

It was one reason he'd rather not take his chances on the water and searched around for another way to pass.  Spotting a fallen log, he approached and nimbly began to walk across it, only to find his bare feet slipping when a spot of moss and algae had slicked it's surface as he was crossing the middle of the wide stream.


Miersck cursed as he caught him, but the log began to roll gently back and forth in the water,  threatening to knock the moth fae into the waters beneath.  Swallowing, he stared at the waters while the log settled back into a more dormant state and wilted with a sigh.

"Stupid, decaying old log," he grumbled and slowly pushed himself to his feet where his red eyes went to the berries on the other side.  "Those berries better be delicious." His stomach growled, hoping the same and he grimaced, clutching onto it. 

Well, he was already half way there, might as well keep going, and this time, he moved more cautiously, yet despite his efforts, something popped out of a hole in the logs side and hissed angrily as a black snack went snapping towards him.

"Holy rotten acorns!" the moth fae shouted, taken off guard as he stumbled away just in time to watch the snake miraculously sail pass him, inches from his body, just as his own body, weighted down by his cloak and wings, began to tip over backwards.  His red eyes went wide as he began to fall, cursing to every known seed and berry he knew before plummeting into the waters.


A moment later he was sputtering and splashing loudly about.  He was also colorfully displaying his great distaste and comforts in the waters, which, were of course, just deep enough that he couldn't stand and he kept bubbling about, slipping under the water's surface now and again, but when his bare feet touched the muddy body, he'd desperately push himself back to the surface, gasp and gargle for air, sputtering out watera nd flappign his arms uselessly about-

Yes, he despised water so much he had never learned to swim, but it didn't help that his wings now felt like cement upon his back, his cloak, even heavier from soaking up all the stupid, chilly mountain waters as he flailed around like an idiotic fish-
It was only then he noticed the black snake was slithering towards him across the waters surface, before he garbled and sank back into the waters.  When he resurfaced again, the thign was nearly upon him.

Quick thinking had him snatching onto a nearby thick, floating stick, which he grabbed onto desperately and thrust at the snack, striking it into the air and out of the water.  miersck only stared at it in wide eyed disbelief that he could have done such a thing as the snake took flight, and landed into a heap int he marsh lands.  But a second later the moth fae found himself bubbling back under the water, angrily flapping about once again and the pathetic attempt to shout while he was sinking went into a vicious cycle until something floated nearby that he desperately latched onto.

Another log? His hair bristled, as he dragged half of himself onto it and collapsed, panting, upset, and sopping wet.  He lay there for a moment, his cheek resting against the rotten log as he groaned.

Well, at least now he wouldn't drown...
but that didn't fix his current predicament...
Because, well, he was still stuck in the water,and had to deal with his stupid wings, which were now like led weights upon his back.

"Ancient Mother of the Forest," he muttered, "How I hate water."

Alycia had been having a great day... or as great as a day of wandering in the middle of nowhere with nobody alongside with her could've been. After all, she had found a river. And, for a mermaid, a river was quite good. Especially since she wasn't by any villages that would see her. Mermaids weren't appreciated in all parts of the world—and Alycia had heard that people had been paying hefty prices for them as slaves. There was no way she would become a slave again. So whenever Alycia was at a coastal village, she had to ignore her longing to enter the ocean. But now she was where nobody would find her and there was a river. Yes, Alycia had been having a great day.

Alycia had taken off her cloak and bag and hung them over the branch of a tree. In fact, because she was alone, she took off all of her clothes except her white corset, folded them, and put them on the ground by the same tree. Alycia ran to the water and dived head first, her legs transforming into a tail the second they were engulfed by the water. Ecstatic that she could finally return to her normal form, something she had avoided doing for a few months due to the saftey precautions, Alycia laughed and started doing tricks in the water. The blue scales of her tail sparkled more than usual with the bright sun shining on them. After swimming around for quite some time, Alycia heard a sound in the distance.

Her wet, long, now dark red hair hung whipped around as she flicked her head towards the sound... the sound of splashing. Swimming slowly and extremely quietly underwater, she headed towards the splashing.

Although Alycia didn't want to risk being seen, she also didn't want to let anyone drown. And, by the sound and length that the splashing had been going on, Alycia assumed it was a person. As she continued to swim upstream, the river got more and more shallow. In fact, it got shallow enough that she was having trouble understanding how anyone would have that much trouble swimming in it. At most, the water would go a few feet beneath the person's feet. And that would be for some super small person.

Realizing that the splashing had stopped, Alycia stopped swimming and listened. She listened partially to the water (to see if the splashing would start again), but mostly to the fish chatter.

Man, she heard. Weak. Snake. Log. Wet. Stuck. Happy that she didn't hear the word 'dead', Alycia was tempted to turn around and head back towards her stuff. But there was no promise that the man would stay safe. If he couldn't swim, which he obviously couldn't, being stuck wouldn't be all that good. Plus, her curiosity made her wonder what kind of person would go in a lake if they couldn't swim. So she continued onwards.

Alycia was a lot closer to the man than she thought. Within half a minute, he was within her view of sight. Luckily for her, he was facing the opposite direction. Unluckily for her, the unstable log he was on was bumped by something in the water causing it to turn towards her. Alycia quickly ducked under the water, but she wasn't sure if she had done it in time.

If I made it, thought Alycia, I should be safe. The water is really dirty... probably because it's so shallow and the dirt is mixing in with it. Please say I made it in time. Please, please, please.

Miersck let out a cry when the log hit into something, and he feared it might capsize as he clung onto it like a cat.
"Ancient Mother of the Forest, no!" he shouted, clinging on for dear life when he thought he saw something move in the water.
Was it a snake? Had the snake come back? Or was some other sort of thing out there, lurking to steal a quick meal of tasty moth fae!?

Gritting his teeth, he hated finding himself in a pitiable situation and called out.
"Hey!?" his voice was angry and echoed over the river. "Who's there!?" He glared across the water, still clutching desperately to his floating log.  "Who ever is out there better show themselves!" he threatened.  But still, he saw nothing, just him and the river.

Did he imagine it?
Miersck grew more agitated as he tried to drag himself higher up onto his log, but his weight made the situation uncertain, as the log bobbed and rocked beneath him.  He held his breath, steadied himself and waited.

There had better not be a giant snake or something. That's all he needed right now....

but it was then he thought he saw something beneath the murky waters, and blinking, he let his eyes focus on it.
Red...
Red!?
Was there blood in the water!?
The idea spooked him as he shifte dhis weight, and the log became uncertain to this as it tipped over and before Miersck knew it, he was underneath the water as anger bubbles crowded around his sinking form.

And he would try to fight it, however, the heavy cloak he wore snagged the thick root of a tree, and Miersck soon found himself panicking.

First there was blood, now there was something holding him back!  Was he going to get eaten!? Was he going to drown!?
He fiercely dug at the water, but the clock wouldn;t give, only tearing pathetically from where it was caught against the root.  His motions became more violent, until he decided to scream-
a stupid and most foolish act as his scream let out into the water, an aggravating and most defeating noise as waters sucked into his throat- he choked, panicked and continued to take in waters as things began to turn black....

Alycia heard shouting. And, even though she was underwater, she could understand it. Another perk of being a mermaid. By what she heard, it seemed like he had seen something, but not specifically her. And he didn't go chasing her, which was always a plus.

It was hard to keep herself still when she only had about seven feet of water to be in. Even though she was trying her best to stay parallel to the ground using her tail and arms, Alycia was having troubles telling where the ground was, seeing as to how dirty the water was. But her natural mermaid instinct kicked in and kept her at a nice angle.

Sadly, her natural mermaid instinct didn't remind her that hair floats.

Hearing sudden splashing yet again, Alycia instinctively stuck her head out of the water. She may not want to be seen as a mermaid, but Alycia had no guarantee that helping this man would threaten her life. But she did know that if she didn't help him, his life would definitely be threatened. Seeing the man start to sink, Alycia hesitated. Maybe he would be able to get back on the log. Maybe he could jump his way to safety. Maybe he actually could swim.

Then he didn't come back up. Without even thinking of her options, Alycia went back under the water just in time to hear the scream. She quickly swam to the sound and got close enough to see the man through the dirty water. His seemed to be choking. Then he stopped moving.

Panicking, Alycia tried to lift him up. Realizing that his cloak was caught on the tree root, Alycia first tried to break the branch. Then she tried to rip the cloak. Finally, running out of ideas, Alycia took the cloak of the man. Or, more accurately, she pulled the man out of the cloak.

Alycia swam upwards as fast as she could even though the distance was short. Within a second or two, she was back at the top of the water. Because she couldn't actually just walk on out of the water (her tail had to be fully dried before it turned back into legs), Alycia just pushed the man back onto land with his back on the ground and his stomach facing the sun. Then, backing away a few feet so she was in deeper water again, she watched him. Would he get back up? Someone with more education may have checked for a pulse to see if he was alive. But, having the slave background she had, Alycia didn't know to do that. So she just stayed there, watching.

Miersck lay un-moving upon the river bank, his mouth slightly open and his eyes, closed.  He looked pathetic, and without his cloak, he was left fully exposed to the world.
His feathery white hair now remained slick across his face, his light brown skin in lovely contrast, as were his white brows.

He wore mostly white, which, again, complimented the contrast to his skin, and then dawned a pair of crumpled looking, soggy things on his back.  And he didn't look to be lying too comfortable on top of them with his belly raised towards the sky, his face, appearing in pain, even as he didn't move- the waters curdling in his stomach and blocking his nose and throat.

If that didn't make it obvious enough he wasn't human, his pointed ears were easily detectable with his white hair slicked against his head.  Not that it might matter, since he might not live to see the next day, lest the water inside his lungs drown him right then and there, where he was lying upon the river bank.

OOC: Sorry it's kinda short~ but figured it'd be more fun if she tries to wake/save him lol

Alycia stared at the stranger for quite some time, still waiting for him to move.

She found him strangely attractive.

Something about his white hair and clothes just worked for him. And Alycia had always had a thing for pointed ears. After processing these two things, she finally noticed the things on his back. But she couldn't quite tell what they were.

Swimming to the edge of the river, Alycia looked at them at a closer point of view. Are those... wings? she wondered. But she didn't ponder on it for too long. Although Alycia didn't have much medical knowledge, she knew enough that his life was probably in danger at this point. After all, she had been looking at him for a few minutes.

Alycia pulled herself up onto land beside the strange man. She left the end of her tail in the water hoping that it would, if nothing else, ensure that her tail stayed a tail. Even if the end wasn't in the water, though, Alycia knew that she would have had a few minutes before her tail completely dried off.

It was at this time that Alycia merely followed her instinct. She didn't know where she got the feeling from—Had she seen someone do it before? Was it because she was a mermaid?—but she trusted it. Putting her mouth on top of the stranger's, Alycia performed mouth to mouth. Willing the water out of his lungs with her mind (though this most likely didn't effect anything), she prayed that he would be okay.

The stranger woke up after just the first attempt. Startled, Alycia leaned back quickly as he started coughing.

A noise came from his throat, then suddenly he was sputtering, water spewing from his mouth as he hacked and sat up right, choking and coughing for air as the waters were freed from his lungs.
He clutched at his throat, coughed some more as he remained keeled over and for the first time, his wings began to perk up.  Though they were heavy from all the water that now cemented them, they began to resemble more of what they ought to look like as they trembled against his back side.

Finally able to catch his breath, he let out a rough sigh and slicked his white, wet hair from his eyes. He hadn't a clue as to what happened, but when he saw a long, slender object like a snake, he reared back suddenly with a gasp.

"A snake!"  and it was only then he noticed the rest of what was attached to the snake like object as his eyes followed the trim, slim body to a bright, red haired girl who sat before him.


Miersck was poised, his ass not quite resting on the ground while his knees remained spread open before him as one hand rested behind him, while the other arm remained braced before him, as if ready to deflect off some attack as he began to crab walk away from her, and that's when he backed up into a tree, and his eyes went wide as he realized he had been cornered and his wings twitched out, becoming erect and taking their true shape, except the left one, which the top portion of his wing remained limply folded over.

They were pretty things, shimmering like the colors of autumn. The outter edges were trimmed in an orangish hue, and that was trimmed in a thin outline of white and beside that, another line of dark brown trimmed it off.  He also bore two dark spots on the bottom portion of his wings that almost looked like an eye, dark and grey, while a whiter and smaller version mirrored on the top.

"What the broken pinecones are you!? and Where am I -uh!?" he paused a moment in his hysteria to glance around, blinking again to realize he was only a few feet from the stream.
It was then his eyes went to the mermaids tail and again, slowly followed it up to where the girl now sat, beached on the river bank.  Blinking, his moth remained in awe as he stared at her. He had only ever heard of mermaids, considering he lived no where near the sea, but similar, but smaller creatures, lived in the wild rivers of his forests, however, they looked more devilish than this one and had pointed teeth.

Though as his mind returned to him, he thought he had imagined this woman kissing him awake and flushed at the thought, still gaping at her like an idiot until he remembered to close his lips into a flat line.

And that's when he stated the obvious.
"A mermaid..."

The strange man treated her awfully rude considering that she had just saved her life. A snake?! thought Alycia. Really? Out of all things, a snake?! Even my tail looks nothing like a snake! Alycia, like many, wasn't too fond of snakes. Especially when she was being compared to one.

Alycia just watched him as he backed away. She only had three options, anyway. Option one: go back into the water and run away, risking him telling everyone about her. Option two: go completely onto land and possibly have her tail turn into legs (and, remember, she would only have a corset on). Option three: wait and see what happens. Alycia chose to wait.

Watching what she had decided were definitely wings start to unfold, Alycia was mesmerized by their beauty. She had seen wings before, but these ones just seemed so exotic.

When the rude, attractive, strange man finally recognized what she truly was, Alycia laughed. All the stress she had just faced combined with the fact that it took him that long to realize what she obviously was made her oddly happy. She didn't laugh for long, though. It was more like a giggle.

Then, turning around, Alycia scooted herself back into the water. She went completely underwater before reappearing and sitting on the edge of the land again. Alycia hated being dry—especially when she was in her mermaid form. And the bright sun had been drying off her skin.

Shaking her head, her hair twisted both sides, spitting water out of the ends. Then it rested neatly on her shoulders.

Looking the stranger straight in the eyes, Alycia smiled and bluntly said, "So, who might you be?"

Miersck only stared at her, not sure what quite to make of her.  Blinking, he replied, "Uh, Miersck." Though he hated formalities. What did she need his name for anyway?  He wore, as usual, his rather cranky expression (not that he knew what other expression to wear, considering...) and looked her over in a subtle curiosity.

He wasn't fond of water creatures, even if they were pretty, for the exact reason he was suffering now-
He hated being wet.  That's when he sneezed, gave way to a shiver and shuddered against the tree.
"I hate water," he blurted out suddenly, still shaking as the chill was getting to him. "Unlike your kind, it serves as an irritant to mine." Miersck griped, brushing some wet straggles of his white hair from his eyes.  He didn't feel the need to explain any further as he got off the ground and began examining his soggy wings.
"Ugh, this'll take all night to dry." He tried shaking them off, little flecks of water and sticky specs of the powder from his wings came fluttering off, but barely did a thing to lift the weight of the water that now weighted it down.  Sighing, he noticed the one that was folded, and reached back with a grunt to unfold it, only to wince at the pain it caused.   Those stupid wings were sensitive!

It was only then he realized the woman had been staring at him and he gave her a mean stare.
"What? Haven't you seen wings before?" he snapped, then turned his back to her as he began to scratch his finger nails through his hair.  His hair was stick too, but at least it would dry faster than his wings, and now because of all this, he would be severely miserable for the rest of the day.

OOC: Omg.. Miersck is so rude. Poor Alycia!

Alycia was tempted to run up to him and throw him back in the water. Sadly, there was a major flaw in that plan: she couldn't run. So, instead, Alycia threw a glare his way before going back into the water. She knew that if she was to deal with Miersck, she was going to have to be able to actually walk. Plus, Alycia got the feeling that he wasn't going to be talking to "her kind" anytime soon. So she might as well turn human. And if she was to turn human, she wanted clothes.

But before Alycia went to go get her clothes, she smashed her tail against the water, splashing Miersck with even more water. Bubbles went to the surface of the water as she laughed. Then she swam, full speed, downstream again. Within a minute, Alycia had grabbed her clothes, stuffed them into her bag (which she had smartly bought waterproofed), and started swimming back towards Miersck with her bag.

As she neared where she had left Miersck before, Alycia got out of the water. She was definitely changing back before she encountered him again. So she pulled a towel out of her bag before throwing the bag onto land. Then she dragged herself out of the water (and behind a large tree) and dried off her tail and corset and hair. Alycia laid out all of her clothes in front of her. The second her tail dried, she put on her underwear and loose brown pants. Then she put her shirt back on. And then her cape. Her cape covered her entire outfit. Leaving the hood of the cape down, Alycia grabbed her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and started walking towards Miersck. She knew she wasn't more than a minute away... assuming he hadn't moved.

Miersck gave a cry as she splashed water at him.  She probably wouldn't have heard all of the horrible grumblings he was spewing out as he tried to shake himself dry.
"Stupid mermaid!" but it seemed she had gone off, but to where?
It was only then he saw her approach and noticed her legs, his eyes staring at them for a while before he blushed and looked up at her face.

"You can walk?" a stupid thing to say, considering he was stating the obvious. "What happened to your tale?" Did she just transform or something?

He wasn't familiar with mermaids of her kind, so he was ignorant on some of the details as he continued to eye her up, not sure exactly what to make of her, but backed away a bit defensively, in case she somehow tried to splash him with more wretched water.


OOC: Sorry this post is short D:

Miersck's astonished reaction was just what Alycia wanted. Over time, Alycia had learned that mermaids can't normally walk. Like, their tails don't turn into legs. She still wasn't sure why her tail did, but she assumed it had to do with her specific family genetics.

Deciding that she probably should respond, Alycia said, "Yes, I can walk. My tail is gone. Poof. Like magic." She knew it wasn't as simply as 'poof'. Her scales gradually turned into skin as her tail split in two. It always took a minute or two. But 'poof' was the easiest explanation she could give Miersck. Especially since she didn't actually know what happened to her tail.

Alycia found great amusement in the fact that Miersck seemed to be slightly scared of her. So, instead of just keeping her distance, she kept walking towards him. But she talked while she walked. Alycia said, "So, Miersck, my name is Alycia. It's a pleasure to meet you. As you have obviously figured out that I'm a mermaid—or part mermaid, at least—I find it necessary to know what you are. Obviously you are some kind of fae, but what kind? I have never seen wings like yours before."

Miersck tried to wrap his head around her tale just vanishing, but it was like trying to comprehend his wings just vanishing, which seemed to be where her eyes were looking as they gave a nervous twitch as he backed away by her approach. 

"Uh," at her interrogation, he found him caught off guard. And she kept advancing, as he kept backing away.  "What does it matter to you what I am?" he asked, abrasively.  His wings tensed against his back, his body still poised defensively as he continued to move away. "If it's obvious I'm a fae, does it really matter what kind?" Then his wings were brought into the conversation as he froze up, looking at her as if she were some vile spider about ready to eat him.

"So what if my wings are different!?" he snapped, this time taking a single step to stand his ground. "Let's just say my breed is uh, er..." his temper was tried as she continued to approach,a nd he found himself stumbling over his words, as well as a rock, that his foot caught upon when he tried to back away again.

Making a noise, the moth fae fell on his ass, wings hitting into a nearby bush that scattered a flurry of tiny moths that fluttered towards the air and faded away towards the sunlight, like snow. 

Alycia had managed to keep her laughter in and put on a straight face throughout the whole process of Miersck defending himself and backing up. And that, for her, was a pretty good deal. She had never met anyone who had been afraid of her before. Her looks were too innocent. But she managed to keep her laughter in. Then he tripped over a rock and basically fell on a bush.

So Alycia laughed. A lot. She laughed to the point that her stomach hurt and her eyes were starting to water. Then she calmed herself down. She took deep breaths. But the second she looked back at Miersck, she started laughing again. After a few minutes of this, Alycia managed to calm herself down. This was partly because she was feeling a little guilty.

Sitting down so Miersck would know that she was done walking towards him, Alycia said, between breaths, "Sorry." Her eyes reflected some of her guilt. She didn't like being teased, and she doubted he did either. Especially since he seemed to have some serious fear of water. Although he had treated her rudely, maybe she did take it a little bit overboard. So, again, Alycia said, "I really am sorry. I'm done teasing you. That was a little mean of me. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

When the mermaid laughed, Miersck's face fell, then quickly wrinkled as he bared his teeth at her and gave an angry growl, growling even louder when she tried to apologize and asked what she could do to help. As if she could help him!

"Try leaving me alone and not touching me so you don't poison me with, uh, you know, what you mermaids do with your poison sacs or something," he grumbled, again, taking a moment to try to register exactly what she was, considering she looked human now to him, except her hair was a bit more radically vibrant than most.  And, despite his comment about the poison sacs, she looked relatively harmless, but how did HE know she wasn't just trying to poison him so she could gobble up his wings or something!?  He shivered at the idea.

The little, mermaid-looking things back at home... well, let's just say it was never pleasant to have one become hungry and chose your wings as it's meal!

"I'm not exactly in the mood to be toyed with by a poisonous mermaid, OR to get splashed with water by one!" he said, growling again as he got to his feet and began dusting himself off, fussing over his wings as he growled. "I've got enough to worry about... snakes, water, now mermaids." she shivered. "Do you even have any idea how much I loath water?" he snapped, turning his anger back towards her before noting the batch of berries sitting behind her.  He stared at it for a moment with an awkward sort of smile, his stomach growling loudly to confess one of the true reasons he was so grumpy (water, being lost among other reasons...), then he appeared to swear at it before he moved pass her to the bush as he began examining the red berries.

Leaning over them, he gave a smell, plucked one and examined it against the sun.  It was impossible for him to note if it was poisonous or not, so he thought for a moment, then turned to the mermaid.
"Hey, you, mermaid, your from around these parts aren't you? Are these berries any good?" he held one out so she could see the fat red berry between his fingers.

The ridiculousness of what he was saying was so extreme that Alycia couldn't even take him seriously. Poison sacs? Yeah right. Alycia smirked a little when his stomach growled but was taken by surprise at his question.

"I have absolutely no idea. Contrary to your beliefs, I'm not from around here. I'm a wanderer—just like you, I'm assuming. And I won't splash you with any more water. I promise." Alycia paused. "But... if you do want something to eat, something that you know isn't poisoness, I do have some food." That being said, Alycia wouldn't be surprised if he assumed it was poisoness due to the fact that it came from her... a mermaid.

Deciding that even if she wanted her own food even if he didn't, Alycia pulled a couple of sandwiches out of her bag. Still sitting down, she started eating one of them, offering the other to Miersck.

"Take it if you want it. It's safe," Alycia said. Then she added, "I didn't even dunk it in salt water like I normally do."

(OOC: Sorry, this is really short. But I wanted to get something in and I have to go to bed. Sorry again.)

Miersck stared at her skeptically when she claimed her innocence.
She might have looked innocent enough, but Miersck was hardly fooled!
"So you're not from around here either?" he quested warily, but then his stomach growled again as his cheeks gave way to another brush. He grumbled at his stomach, and of course, it grumbled again in return.

Crouching down before her, he sighed and finally admitted,
"Alright, I'm hungry enough to try, whatever that is you have there,' she said, looking at the sandwiches long ways.  He had only ever really eaten things harvested from his own forests, and breads were a rarity, and he certainly hadn't seen anyone put things between pieces of bread before. It was a curious thing, and he found himself staring at it more intently than he'd like.

"So what's in this stuff?" he asked, taking the one she had offered and stared at it, onyl making a face when she mentioned she'd dunk it in salt water.  He imagined how unappetizing the sandwich would be if it were soaking wet- and again, recalled the plight of his wings and hair and shivered, itching at his bangs, then at his wings before taking a bit and chewing on it.

He made a few faces, uncertain how he thought about this thing called "bread", but, his stomach goaded him onward, so he began to scarf the rest down more quickly before he began to lick at his fingers and moved to pick up her bag. "You got any more of those sandwiches in there?" he asked, not even thinking to use his manners to see if he was allowed to search through her bag...

but such as it were with Miersck, ever so enveloped into his own world he forgets that other people have feelings and need to breath the same air as he, too.


OOC: It's all good! and look at that, Miersck is so rude! Your poor mermaid, lol. He's going to end up eating all of the sandwiches in her bag if she's not careful!

Is he looking through my bag?! thought Alycia. That is totally not allowed. I have stuff in there. Like... a mirror and books and money.

Alycia was tempted to tease him, but she restrained and merely pulled the bag out of his hands. She did have more food, but she wasn't just going to give it all away. At least for nothing. After all, she had to be able to feed herself until next town. Putting the bag down next to her side (the one not by Miersk), Alycia made a decision.

"You can have more food," she started. "But you're going to have to do a few things."

After all, Alycia wasn't travelling just to see things. She did have a purpose. But she guessed that food wouldn't be enough to convince this grumpy fae to stay with her. She'd have to offer more.

"Of course, I won't just give you food. I can give you information. Help you get around. Teach you things. If nothing else, I can lead you somewhere. There's a map in my bag." Instinctively, Alycia put her arm over her bag, as if to protect it. She didn't want him lashing out and snatching it.

Miersck grimaced when the food-sack was taken from him, but perked up at the mention of more food, but nearly scowled when she mentioned the idea of a favor.
"What do you mean, I have to help you?" he asked, indignantly. It was as if no one ever asked him in all of his life to help, his nose going into the air in a snobbish manner before he closed his lips, his stomach growling loudly.
His cheeks gave way to another blush.

"You could start by telling me where we are and if those," he said, pointing to a patch of berries behind her. "Are edible."

He then looked down at her, skeptically. Why did she want to help him anyways. His wings gave a little shiver before he blinked and looked away.  He had been alone for so long, he didn't know how to respond to that sort of reaction. Unless...

"You're not a poacher, are you?" he accused, suddenly, pointing a finger directly at her.
Instead of being happy someone actually wanted to give him the time of day, he grew crass but then realized, if she WAS- would she have fed him and pulled him from the river.
Either way, it didn't stop him from asking something so foolish as he stared at her, challenging her if she WERE some sneaky poacher.

Did she know what he really was!?
Was the food he got poisonous!?

Then his stomach growled again and he backed away, sheepishly as he gave a growl.
No, she looked too... what was the word, naive? for that...

Her mannerism almost reminded him of one of his friends back at home- that damn anoying fairy girl!

"Where's my cloak?" he asked suddenly, realizing he was still fully exposed and had forgotten what had become of it while distracted with her food.  He fussed over his hair, growling when it didn't cover over his ears as he cupped his hands over the pointed tips, but then, paused to realize his wings couldn't be simply hidden behind his hands as he sighed and dropped his arms away.


"So... what sort of information could you give me," he finally reluctantly resigned himself to... considering being HELPED by this ... mermaid.
His cheeks burned at the idea, his pride, feeling depleted as his wings twitched once against his back, his eyes averting hers as he stared off into the distance, gritting his teeth as he awaited her reply.


Perhaps she could at least help POINT him int he right direction....

As much as Alycia was trying to be nice to Miersck, he was getting a little annoying. Then she felt guilty for thinking that. She didn't know his past. She didn't know what hardships he had come from. She didn't know him. And, since he didn't seem to be some serial killer, he definitely could've turned out worse.

Alycia decided to think about him as if he had suffered the worst childhood possible—until she learned otherwise, at least. Miersck's stomach kept growling and Alycia was going to give him some food... but then he started asking questions. Right when she was about to respond to each one, he cut her off with another. When it seemed like he had finally finished and was actually waiting for an answer, Alycia sighed and decided to respond.

"I don't know if those berries are edible. I could find out, if you'd like, but I doubt you'd like my method. Since you seem to despise mermaids and all. As for where we are, well, we're in Serendipity. I don't know the exact location. But there's a town about eighty miles away called Lenosa. That's where I'm heading. I am most definitely not a poacher."

Did poachers hunt fae? Alycia had never heard that before. She scrunched her nose at the thought—it even reminded her of her slave days. And those were not pleasant days to remember.

"Your cloak is in the water. Snagged on the branch that almost drowned you—until I rescued you, that it. If you'd really like, I could get it. But, again, I get the feeling you don't like my tail," Alycia said before pausing and thinking about it. It seemed like most people loved mermaids. That's why they get captured and sold. They were supposed to be 'items' of beauty. And yet this man hated them. Although it seemed odd to her, she was glad. That meant she should be safe... for the most part.

Alycia had no idea what kind of information she could offer him. She knew a lot, for sure, but didn't know what interested him. Most of what she knew seemed to be town gossip and random supposedly useless facts. But travelling had taught her that all sorts of people want to know all sorts of things, and her trivial facts had helped her out many times.

So Alycia looked straight into Miersck's eyes and replied, "What info do you want?" Then, realizing that she had been wasting precious time, decided to continue walking towards the town. She stood up, put the hood of her cloak down (it was making her hot), and grabbed the bag before starting to walk along the side of the river. But she stayed a good twenty feet away from the water so Miersck would feel more comfortable."Coming?" she asked as a rhetorical question. She knew he'd follow. The fact that he hadn't fled yet was proof enough for her.

"In the river!?" Miersck's face fell.  He turned to look towards the river and cringed, and still kept his teeth bared when she mentioned her tale.  No, it was a bad idea, she was right. He'd rather not think about the river water, but that still left him without his cloak.

"Look, I can't go into a town looking like this!" Miersck whined, finding himself reluctantly following the mermaid as she began to move onward towards the town.  "It's dangerous for my kind to even be out here. I'm not from around these parts but I," and here, his feet caught upon the root of a nearby tree and his arms began to pinwheel as he fell forward.  He managed to catch himself, but not without stumbling into Alycia as he did so, and soon found himself falling on top of her as they both landed in the grassy mud.

Embarassed, Miersck's face heated up as he looked down, realizing their faces were just inches away from one another as he remained, positioned awkwardly on top of her.
And although it was out of character, so was the moment as he stammered, "Er- S-sorry!" and was quick to scramble to his feet as he glared over at the tree root he had tripped over.
"Stupid, gnarled old tree root!" he said, hissing towards it as his hair and wings bristled- far too consumed in his OWN worries and woes to be a gentle man and offer the poor mermaid a hand.


OOC: Hope it's ok I had him trip and fall ontop of her, if not, I can adjust my post :)

It took Miersck telling her for Alycia to realize that he probably wasn't any safer than she was. After all, mermaids weren't the only beings that were hunted. This realization made her feel a little bit of sympathy for him, and she was about offer him cloak when, well, he was on top of her.

His eyes were right above hers. And goodness gracious, she still found them attractive. Alycia may have been playing it strong around him, teasing him and all, but this was too much for her normally shy personality. He was just so close and it caused her mask to break. Alycia could never be an actor.

Whereas this incident made Miersck break out of character, it snapped Alycia right back into hers. She moved her eyes back and forth—looked anywhere but at him. She could feel her face heat up. Her cheeks got pretty red. Even when Miersck got up, she couldn't calm her beating heart.

Although Alycia would've freaked out no matter who it was that was so close to her, the fact that she still thought Miersck was strangely attractive did not help. After a second, she murmured, "It's... no... no big deal." Slowly sitting herself up, Alycia took a few deep breaths. She knew Miersck had fell (she had guessed that even before he started yelling at the tree root), but, even still, this kind of thing had never happened to her. So she just sat there, dazed, trying to get back into her previous outgoing mindset.

Miersck was still angrily berating the tree root, having focused on it for longer than he should have, considering he was just as embarrassed as she was (after all, he was a boy, and falling on top of an attractive girl never bode well for his senses as they tingled and burned in uncomfortable ways.)
Turning back to her, he noted the blush and averted his gaze angrily. Why was she blushing!? It wasn't like he-
Then he paled, his heart skipping a beat..

No, no, that didn't happen. Though panic streaked his eyes, but he shook it away.
No, no! He just fell on top of her. Nothing more than that!

But..t he poor mermaid did seem rather jarred.  Sighing, he grumbled and moved towards her, offering her a hand.
"Here, let me help you up." he said, but couldn't look at her, the blush still evident on his face, even though his skin was dark as he waited patiently for her to take his hand.


OOC: He's being nice!? *gasp* Who is this Miersck person in this post!? *shocked*

Well, I'm sure he'll say something mean next time to ruin the moment anyway, haha.

Miersck offering Alycia his hand did not help her calm down. But she took it anyway and got up. Then she picked up her bag (she dropped it when she fell).

To hide her embarrassment, Alycia did what she always did and pulled the hood of her cloak over her head. She held it there for a few seconds, looking at the ground, before remembering something. Then, without hesitation, she put her bag down again and started taking her cloak off. Alycia hated not having her cloak on. It made her feel unprotected. But she didn't actually need it. So she pulled it over her head.

This left her loose brown pants and tight green shirt exposed. Her shirt had short sleeves since it was too hot to have long sleeve shirts under a cloak, but now her bare arms made her feel exposed. That might seem strange to others, since Alycia was a mermaid and would swim in a corset, but that's just how her mind worked. Her mermaid self was different than her human self. And, unless she was disguised as someone else, her human self always felt bare.

But Alycia pretended like nothing was wrong and just held her cloak out to Miersck. He was about her size so she'd be surprised if it didn't fit him. And it didn't seem girly. Deciding that she should probably actually say something, Alycia asked, "Do you want to wear my cloak? It's a hundred percent dry and will cover your wings for you. So you don't have to worry about people seeing them." Alycia added in a smile for good measure.

Miersck took a step back when she began to take off her hooded cape.
Was she trying to undress!? What was this crazy mermaid doing!?
However, as much as he wanted to tear his eyes off of her, they stayed-
and he found himself just staring at her-


Even after the cape had been offered.
It took him a while to realize what she was doing as he wrinkled his nose.

"No, you keep it," he said, even though, part of him wanted to use it to hide himself away.  He was well aware of the dangers of that and well...
"My wings need to dry anyways." he grumbled, moving past her.  He needed to cool his face off. He didn't know what the heck was coming over him- perhaps he just needed to eat more.
Yeah, eat more.

Food was good.

"Let's just hurry up and get to the nearest town. Maybe I can get a cloak by then."

Although I haven't any money, he thought bitterly as he moved forward in the direction Alycia had been moving in until she had stopped abruptly to offer him her cape.

What was wrong with her anyways? Offering him her clothing?
He wasn't used to someone be so accommodating as she was being, and felt awkward for it.

"Come on. Let's hurry up."  He didn't look back to see if she was following, he just kept clumsily moving forward, shuffling his awkward, wet wings upon his back. It would, ugh, take most of the day for them to dry. He ruffled a hand through his hair. And his hair.. he frowned, but kept his focus forward.

Yeah, he'd just follow her to town, get himself a new hooded cloak and well, that would be that. He could keep moving on to well.. where ever..
He stole a glance down at his hand.
Some of the binding over the black mark on his hand had come lose.
He was quick to draw in hand in, working at sealing up the wraps over the mark, but frowned as he realized, some of the black, veins still were showing through- and his skin was already greying away on the skin around it.

He frowned and tried to forget about it.

He had to keep moving onward...

Even though, the more he moved, the cursed seemed to tail him.

So he doesn't want my cloak?! thought Alycia. All that complaining, and he doesn't want my cloak. Isn't that just great. With a sigh, she put the cloak back on. If he wasn't going to wear it, she might as well.

Alycia was following Miersck. She knew the walk would take at least a few days and wasn't in any hurry, but it seemed like he was. She wished she could actually control water. Then she would've been able to dry off his wings for him. But from all experiences she had, she wasn't able to. That being said, she did discover new talents as time passed...

As Alycia was debating whether or not she should attempt to find out if she was actually able to control water, Miersck seemed to slow down. Confused, Alycia walked closer to him. He was doing something with his hand.

Are there black marks on his hand? thought Alycia. At first she doubted herself, but it seemed like he was trying to cover them up. And the more she looked, the more apparent they became. She decided not to just hide her curiosity.

Now so close to him that she was basically talking in his ear, Alycia asked, "What are those black marks? And... is your hand turning gray?" She knew no berries or common dyes that could've made his hand gray. That seemed awfully suspicious.

Miersck made a noise and a jump, totally taken off guard with how close Alycia had gotten that he had almost missed her comment about his hand. His red eyes then went to his hand, the stupid bindings coming loose again as he growled and covered it up with his other hand.

"It's none of your business!" he growled, turning away from her and storming down the trail.
If there was one sore spot on Miersck, it was any mention of the stupid mark on his arm.
Water and his wet wings aside, now he was more than irritably, even a little jumpy and on edge since the mermaid had gotten so close to him without noticing as he nervously ran a hand through his white hair.

"Look, I just don't want to talk about it," he grumbled, a moment later.  Though now that they were talking about it, the stupid mark seemed to turn itchy as he gave it a scratched, grunting as he did so and fussed more over the bindings, trying to be more careful this time so she couldn't see it as he tended to it.  Though when he noticed more grey skin was showing, he frowned, his wings seeming to wilt along with along with the expression.

It did not take much for Alycia to tell how annoyed and irritated Miersck was. He said that he didn't want to talk about it, but he obviously was thinking about it. All of his body language was hinting towards that. Even his wings.

Catching up to Miersck, Alycia sighed. Although she wished she could comfort him and help him somehow, she knew that that wasn't likely. First of all, she had no idea how to comfort someone like him. Secondly, she had just met him and didn't want to intrude. And, lastly, she was afraid that if she said something wrong, he would just leave. So she just walked beside him in silence.

They weren't near the river anymore. Instead, they were heading towards the forest. Looking at the trees, Alycia sighed again. She had never liked forests. They were nice for seclusion and sometimes had rivers in them, but that was all that was good. Plus, the rivers were usually too shallow for her to go into. But these woods looked especially menacing. The trees were tall and left lots of shade. The bark wasn't the least bit smoothed and even looked like some of the trees had claw marks in them. Alycia couldn't even see any flowers in this forest.

But two more things seemed unsettling to Alycia. The thing she noticed first was that the woods were eerily silent. She couldn't hear a single bird singing or squirrel chattering or snake slithering. With the exception of the leaves crunching under Miersck and her feet, she heard nothing. Even the river behind them seemed to become dead silent. Also, the woods appeared out of no where. It was river, then a plain, then the woods. There were barely any trees by the river, and the few trees there were were small. But, all of a sudden, there was a giant forest. Subconsciously, Alycia threw a nervous glance towards Miersck.

OOC: Sorry for the late response! I was out of town and we had no wi-fi.

OOC: It's ok! <3 tis the season to be busy!

IC:
Miersck continued walking in silence, but it was that silence that jarred him, not in the forest, but with his companion. She had been bubbly and happy a moment ago, now..
He glanced over his shoulder and looked at her. She looked nervous.
Did he make her upset or something?

Miersck slowed his pace, sighing hotly as he closed his eyes.
"Look, I didn't mean to yell.." though it was hard to tell he was being sincere, and not angry, since he certainly sounded angry, hands clenched into fists at his side, but he was attempting at an apology, even though every second of it burned at his pride.
However, he was so wound up over his own irritations that he almost didn't notice the white deer before them and suddenly he froze.

The deer raised it's head, eating a mouthful of grass and staring back at them with black eyes.
Miersck's wings twitched, his hands moving outward, legs poised as if his body were acting as a defensive shield between the animal and Alycia.  It seemed Miersck and the deer were having a stare down, but then Miersck felt something- he wasn't sure what, and the animal suddenly bolted.

Releasing his breath, Miersck stood more erect as he watched it leap away.
"Well that was strange. Are you ok?" he turned towards Alycia, only to become completely frozen in shock as a massive bear was slowly stalking their way.  It was close enough he could hear it's grunts and breathing as it approached with it's wide steps.
Miersck's lips gaped open, moving as if to say something, eyes as wide as the sun.
"We.. need.. to run.." Miersck stammered, and suddenly the bear got up on it's hind legs, drawing it's heavy front paws to it's chest as it let out a raw, it's maw baring large, angry white teeth.
"Shit!"

Miersck's sudden apology surprised her more than the deer did. That deer, however, seemed to freak Miersck out. Alycia almost laughed. Deer were basically harmless—unless you got them mad. That being said, Alycia had never seen a white deer before. Just as she was about to tell Miersck not to worry about the deer, it ran. So she didn't.

But then Miersck turned towards Alycia. Even asked how she was. And then froze up. She could tell by his expression that this was a bigger problem than the deer. With Miersck and herself and the forest silent, Alycia could easily hear the heavy breath of the thing behind her. Slowly turning around, Alycia's eyes widened at the sight of the giant bear. This bear did not seem harmless.

The bear started standing up on its hinds legs and Alycia was so frightened and mesmerized by the creature that she didn't even hear what Miersck was saying. When the bear roared, Alycia couldn't help but notice that its gigantic mouth looked like it could eat her in a few bites. And yet something about this creature compelled her. It was so frightening and yet so magnificent. The power, the strength, the grandeur... as well as something else she couldn't quite place her mind on all reminded her of magic. Alycia took this feeling to be the magic of nature, though that wasn't necessarily correct.

But that feeling got Alycia wondering. Could she copy a bear? She had never tried to copy anything but a human before... and even though she could do that flawlessly, she didn't know what might happen if she couldn't completely copy the bear. Maybe nothing. Or maybe she'd be some kind of weird morphed thing between a human and a bear. Although Alycia was now extremely tempted to try transforming into the creature in front of her, she withheld herself due to the fact that it might eat them any second. And it didn't seem like the ideal time to explore her own magic.

All of those thoughts passed through Alycia's head in a matter of seconds. With wide eyes, she slowly backed away so she was next to Miersck. "What do we do?" asked Alycia.

Miersck didn't need to answer her as the bear moved forward and before Miersck knew it, he grabbed onto her wrist and was dragging her away, running like a mad man across the brush.
He could hear the bear pause to roar angrily behind them.
"Whatever you do, just keep running!" Miersck shouted, fear gripping his heart as adrenaline nearly made his feet fly across the ground.  He was moving so fast and desperate that he didn't see the steep drop before them until it was too late.

Leaves skirted beneath him as he pinwheeled to a halt at the crest of the hill, his hand still clutching onto Alycia's desperately.  They were both teetering now, just at the edge, and thankfully Miersck had managed to halt them before they would have fallen over the side! It was a long drop, and Miersck's face paled at the thought hte two of them could have been tumbling to their deaths...


But then he heard the bear and when he whirled around, the thing was nearly upon them.
"Oh Gods, hold on!" was all Miersck could shout as he suddenly pulled Alycia into his arms and threw them both over the cliff side, moments before the bear's maw crunched into the air, mere inches from their faces....


And they began to free fall, falling over the edge and down.. down.. down.. their faces towards the sky.
And he had to think quick. Holding the girl fiercely in his arms, he closed his eyes tightly and turne them in mid air as they began to free fall and with a pain filled cry- He withdrew his wings as they shot open upon his back.

Although they were drying, the one wing had been crumpled and now that it was being forced to work, it nearly tore as the weight from the river, Miersck's own body weight, and the additional from Alycia began to take it's toll as his wings helped guide the two towards the ground.

Though the bottom came closer than he thought, and a landing wasn't calculated as the two suddenly collided into the ground and were tossed into a jumbled mess of spinning limbs and scrapping off the underbrush until the both settled into a pile upon the floor- Alycia nestled below him, sitll within his arms.

YEs.. ironically.. Miersck was still holding onto her so tight he hadn't realized he had shielded her from most of the scrapes from the fall....


He, on the other hand, remained motionless as he lay there, breathing heavily into her hair as blood began to trickle from the various cuts now burning across his body.


OOC: Hope this post works XD
I suddenly got inspired and the fingers kept typing @_@ ;

Don't fall, thought Alycia after Miersck grabbed her hand and sprinted. Don't fall, don't fall, don't fall. The sudden jerk of the pull on her wrist made her totter about for a little while, but she regained her balance. Keep running. Faster, faster, faster. Then a cliff appeared. Alycia knew she probably would've just fallen over the edge if it wasn't for Miersck.

She looked down. They were pretty high up. She could see grass and bushes and some trees below them, but no water. Water would've been a life saver. Even though Miersck didn't like it, Alycia could've turned into a mermaid and protected them from any serious harm. But there was no water.

Turning around, she stared at the bear wide eyed. It was right there. Right in front of them. Then Miersck shouted something and hugged her tightly and all of a sudden they were falling.

What did he say? wondered Alycia. It seemed to her like everything was moving in slow motion. She saw the bear's mouth almost eat her nose off, along with the rest of her face. She saw the clouds in the sky, floating happily about as if nothing was wrong. And she saw Miersck's wings unfold in such a manner that they seemed both beautiful and painful. After a few long seconds, they hit the ground, but Alycia barely felt any pain after the inicial shock.

Unexpectedly, Alycia was quite calm. She had never been in a situation this tense since she got captured as a child. And she barely remembered that. Just running, running, running. And then tripping. The visions of blue, and green, and tan. Then the red. The red was the worst.

Red, red, red, thought Alycia now, trying to remember what that red was. Then her life seemed to speed back up and her eyes widened as she looked at Miersck and saw, well, red. Blood red. The same color as the red in her memory. Although she couldn't remember what exactly happened before, she knew the red wasn't good then. And it ruined her life. She wasn't about to let that happen again.

Alycia instinctively got out from underneath him. She was about to turn him around but decided that might not be good for his wings. She started going through her brain for anything that could help.

Blood had water. She was a mermaid. She couldn't control water. It didn't matter that blood had water.

Doctors could help fix him up. She wasn't a doctor. There wasn't a village close enough. There were no doctors.

Herbs could stop bleeding. But she didn't know which herbs. And she didn't want to grab a poisoness one. So she didn't want to rely on herbs.

But then Alycia saw her bag a few feet away. She must've dropped it at some point during the fall. Quickly limping over to it (her legs were weak from the shock produced by hitting the ground), she opened it up and started looking in it. In desperation, she turned it upside down, dumped everything out, and got on her knees to look through everything.

Finding a salve that was supposed to help stop bleeding and heal cuts, Alycia went back over to Miersck. She put it on all of the smaller cuts she could find. But some of them just seemed too big. Pulling off her cloak and ripping some pieces off of it, she tightly wound the pieces around his arms and legs to hopefully help stop the bleeding.

OOC: The more you write, the more I'm inspired to write XD I'm easily inspired by other people's writing so... yeah.

OOC: I Don't know *why* I'm envisioning Miersck being bound up like a mummy but...
8D~


IC:
Miersck groaned and began to come around. While she was tending to him and sorting through her pack, he had found himself too dizzy to stand or move, and in too much pain it stunned him.  He would have remained laying there all day if he could, but then he felt movement upon him and after a time..

He sucked in a breath between clenched teeth the moment she applied the salve across a large gash on his arm. The pain was enough to rouse him and he was sitting up, but not without consequences as he let out a noise, his body quivering in pain.
Panting, he paused a moment, a grimace on his face as he waited, waited.. waited for the pain to subside before groaning and opening his eyes up towards her.

It was only then he felt the bindings on his body, and curious, he turned to Alycia and blinked.
"What I-"
then blinked again as he peered up at the top of the treacherous hillside they had fallen down.
He turned back to Alycia, eyes flickeirng over her once before he suddenly asked.
"We survived.." then a moment later, after his wings gave a painful twitch, he added. "Are you ok?"
He was obviously more worse for wear but...
well, even he couldn't ignore inquiring about her feelings, after all, he had just risked their neck for them when they could have been gobbled up, just moments ago, from the bear.

It was only then he heard the bears soft complaints at the top of the hill as it stalked across it in an angry fashion. Thankfully it was worlds above them as Miersck sighed and turned back to the mermaid.

OOC: I don't think he actually is bound up like a mummy, but I have the same image too...

IC:
When Alycia first met Miersck, she found him annoying—even though she tried not to judge him. He was just rude to her. But now it was obvious that there was more to him than met the eye.

Anybody with a soul probably would've helped her get away from the bear. That part didn't really surprise her. The jump off the cliff was the only option. So that made sense too. But he didn't have to take all the damage. Alycia assumed he did so on purpose, given how he had been holding her. And even with all his injuries and obvious pain, the first thing he asked her was if she was okay.

So Alycia's opinion of Miersck had drastically changed. Although he may have been mean on the outside, she was starting to believe that maybe he was a sweetheart on the inside. With this realization, Alycia definitely wasn't going to treat him the same.

With a smile, she responded, "I'm perfectly fine, thanks to you." Then she paused and added, quietly, "You saved my life."

Now that she had done everything she could do to help his injuries, Alycia returned to her pile of junk that had fallen out of her bag. She looked at her ruined cloak and decided that it was probably about time to buy a new one, anyway. And given that it had been used to help someone, she decided not to think about her bare arms and un-cloakable head.

Turning her head back towards Miersck, she laughed and said, "Well, I guess you are wearing some of my cloak." And he didn't have much choice in the matter that time.

Finally, Alycia returned her eyes to the pile and started searching through it. There was food, extra clothes, a bunch of maps, some money, and other random stuff. It was the other random stuff that interested her at this point in time. Alycia grabbed one of the many pieces of paper (though one of the few blank ones) and some ink and a feather.

OOC: I Know he's not- but the idea of it just amused me!

IC:
Miersck looked down at the wrappings on his body and felt himself flush, then over to her, blinking curiously as she rustled through her supplies.
He moved to stand, though winced and fell back, merely shocked by the sudden pain. It wasn't over whelming, but his body ached.
He tried again and moved to her side, his teeth still bared as he peered at her things.
"You carry a lot of stuff," he idly commented and tilted his head at the paper and ink.


OOC: Sorry it's short XD

It was quite obvious to Alycia that Miersck was still in pain. She would've been quite surprised if he wasn't, considering how much he was hurt. And she didn't even close the big cuts. Although she normally would've had him stand, she didn't like the idea of putting him through more pain.

"Lay down," Alycia demanded. "Flat on the ground. I need to draw a picture of you." She paused. "I suppose you could lean against a tree or something if you'd like. But I feel like that would be painful. I just don't know if you'd be comfortable with me leaning over you to draw you. But, whatever you choose to do, I'll try to be quick."

Alycia felt absolutely no need to tell him why she wanted to draw him. If he cared, he'd ask. If he didn't, he wouldn't. He would figure out sooner or later, anyway. And she definitely wasn't going to use the drawing before notifying him. But she also figured that he would ask her why. People always did.

Miersck blinked.
"What do you want me to ly down for?" he almost snorted at the idea of being told what to do. But then she went about explaining ad he couldn't help but feel himself blush.
"You want to what!?" his wings and hair bristled.
Shaking his head he backed away.
"Why would you want to do that?" he seemed rather jarred by the idea, staring at her skeptically as his eyes went from quill to paper, then back to her quill again.

Miersck's reaction to her demands made Alycia laugh. And the bristling of his wings and hair was so attractive. That thought made her blush a little bit.

Like she expected, Miersck did ask why she wanted to draw him. In normal situations, she wouldn't have told somebody what her magic was in such a short time. But in normal situations, she wouldn't have wanted to draw someone. And Miersck had done enough to earn her trust.

After a slight hesitation, Alycia responded, "I can perform some transformation magic. If I have a drawing of you, I know I can transform into you at any given time." She paused. "I'm kind of worried that once we get to town, something will happen. I have a bad feeling about it. And if you get in some sort of trouble, I can definitely help you get out of it by transforming into you. It confuses people. Majorly."

One of Alycia's biggest problems with her transformation magic was that she usually forgot what people looked like. And without a clear image in her head, she couldn't successfully transform. The other problem she had was that people usually felt uncomfortable with her drawing them and being able to transform into them at will.

This realization coming upon her yet again, Alycia added, "If you don't want me to draw you, I don't have to. I just figured it might be useful."

Miersck blinked.
"What?" the idea baffled him, then his entire body suddenly gave way to blush as he realized...


If she were him.. she know every minute detail about his body and....

He suddenly felt a droplet of stinging blood and his nose and gasped, putting a hand to it.
Turning away, he wiped the blood off on his arm, giving a sniff.
"Why would you want to do that?" he snapped, grumpily, wings twitching at his back. "I mean... wouldn't that also put you into harms way if I was in harms way?" he shook his head. "That's just crazy!"

Seeing blood, Alycia quickly hurried to her cape before ripping off yet another little piece. Then she went up to Miersck and gave it to him to stop the bleeding.

"I don't need to do it if you don't like. But it wouldn't really put me in harms way. I mean, I can always transform into someone else. I have been playing cat and mouse for almost a year now and have never been caught." And, for some reason Alycia didn't quite understand, there were a lot of people that chased her. "But if you don't want me to, then that's that."

Alycia returned to her bag. She put then quill and the paper and everything else back into it. She hesitated for a second before sticking her cloak in the bag as well. Her uncovered arms were still bugging her a little big. But she picked up the bag. And then put it back down. Taking out a map, she looked at it with wonder while thinking, Where in the world are we?!

Miersck yanked the fabric from her fingers, cramming it against his nose.

"What? What do you mean? You do this thing all of the time!?" The idea baffled him, and he found himself relieved, but also embarrassed when she put the quill and paper away.  Was he supposed to know about such powers? Because he didn't, he found himself feeling.. inadequate at best as he sourly turned away, face still burning in blush.  HE couldn't help but remain bristled, but then noticed she was looking at something and peered over her shoulder at it.

"What's this?" he blinked, never having seen a map before, he commented, "That's a weird drawing."


OOC: Ugh, I had a better post typed up but accidently closed the browser and lost it ;_;

OOC: That's too bad, but what you wrote was good enough.

IC:
This is... a weird drawing? thought Alycia. The idea dawned upon her that Miersck must not have ever seen a map. After all, maps were quite distinguishable. But that was not the comment she was hoping for. Alycia had close to no idea how to follow a map, and was hoping he would help her.

With a sigh, she glanced at the map, decided they were lost, put the map away, and replied to Miersck. "It's a map. It shows where things are and, theoretically, how to get places. But we've strayed from the path I knew how to follow and so I don't really know where to go. But given where we were heading, it's out best bet to head that way." Alycia pointed towards where the sun was. If they walked along the edge of the bottom of the cliff, it should follow a semi-similar path. That's what Alycia guessed, at least.

Taking a closer look at the sun, Alycia saw how late it was getting. It wasn't dark yet, of course, but it seemed to her like the sun was actually starting to head down towards the horizon. That meant they'd need to come up with a safe shelter relatively soon. And create some fire. The fire would help light things up, of course, but it would also help keep the creatures away. With yet another sigh, Alycia realized that it would be a long night.

Miersck stared from her, then to the sun, then back to Alycia again.
"So that drawing is supposed to tell us where we need to go?" he wrinkled his face in confusion, and picked at his ear. "Sounds ridiculous if you ask me." He blinked back at the sun, flicking some white hair from his face so that his blood-red eyes were more exposed. "But I guess who am I to comment on these strange ideas. I'm not really from around here. And the trees here are so small..." he studied them, hands to his hips as he shook his head.
"IS that drawing of directions some sort of magic as well? Like when you wanted to draw me? IS a spell required to make it and read it or something?"

Miersck really had no clue!

Alycia giggled at the fact that Miersck had absolutely no idea what a map was. She was a slave and she knew! But she figured she shouldn't judge him that much.

Her thoughts were temporarily distracted when he moved his hair. She found it extremely hot. He was an attractive clueless man. Shaking her head a little to clear her thoughts, Alycia listened as he continued to talk. With patience, she responded, "No magic is needed to make it or read it. People that travel record where they go and what's where and draw it into the map. To read it, you just need an understanding of direction and some distance estimating skill." She wasn't good at either part. "But this map is a little harder to read since it doesn't have roads to follow."

With a pause, Alycia added, "Do you have any magic?" She had told him hers, which wasn't the safest thing to do, so she would like it if he would do the opposite. "Fae folk do, right?"

Miersck scratched at the back of his head, still feeling a bit clueless on the idea, but he supposed if he saw it in action, he might understand so he simply shrugged.
Placing his hands behind his head, he blinked and looked over at her when she then asked him about if he had any abilities.

He started picking at some of the wraps she had bound around his wounds, finding them suddenly itchy.
"Yeah, I got some magic, but I don't think it would do us much good out here. I can cast illusions and spells and see at night and things.." he shrugged, grumpily looking at the ground when he realized he didn't have much to offer before he looked down at the black mark on his hand, then before she might have noticed (though she might have anyways), he placed his other hand over top of it and cleared his throat.

"And I can make silk threads and fly, all the good that would do," he grumbled, moving forward.  After all, his wings were still kind of useless. But at least they were drying- but now, they were all banged up.  "I don't have any magical ways to find directions, if that's what you're asking," he sneered, lamely.

Illusions? thought Alycia. Then our magic is similar. Interesting. Then again, she couldn't see at night or fly. But she could swim fast and breath underwater. It was kind of like his magic was just a different version of hers.

Seeing Miersck mess around with the wraps around his wounds, Alycia got worried and ignored his last comment. "Let's just rest here for the night." She realized that he was probably in so much pain that he  wouldn't want to continue to travel. Plus, sleep was always good. Especially since she was starting to get tired.

Although the sun was still up fairly high, Alycia figured that they could spend the extra time getting to know each other better. She knew that they would be together for a lot more than a couple of days now that they were lost. In the middle of the forest. Without any solid directions. So some companionship and trust seemed like a good idea.

Miersck simply blinked at her comment to just camp there. Looking around, he made a face.
"You mean so close to the bear? Perhaps we should move a bit further away, I mean.." he rubbed at his shoulder, gritting his teeth. "Not that I'd complain resting during the day." He sighed, feeling his grumpiness getting the better of him as he gave a flick of his hair. "My types normally sleep all day." he afforded a brief yawn, stretching his long arms above his head as he began to walk forward. "But I've found it difficult to deal with... er, people out this way if you try to converse at night. Most are sleeping." He made a face at that and looked back irritably at the sun, lifting a hand to shield it's rays from his face, but his red eyes still sparkled like jewels beneath the shade casting down from his hand.

"Maybe we could find like a cave or tree or something we could sleep in," he suggested with a shrug, scratching at the back of his ear with his finger nails. "The way I see it, if we find a tree, one of those hairy beasts won't be able to get us. They seem too fat to be able to climb a tree."

Miersck had officially confused Alycia. What he said made no sense. And that wasn't just because his looks were distracting her from his words.

"The bear is way up there," Alycia started, pointing at the top of where they fell from. "It won't be coming down. Therefore we're nowhere near it. And what people are you talking about? There is nobody out here. If there were, we wouldn't be in such a tight situation." She didn't really get where he was coming from with his thoughts. With a sigh, Alycia finished, "Would you please explain your thinking to me? I'm afraid I don't get it."

But even with all her confusion, she followed Miersck as he walked. She could tell that the sun was bothering him, but there was nothing she could do. Alycia almost tried to pull her hood up before she realized that she wasn't wearing her cape. So, instead, she just looked at the ground as she walked beside him.

Miersck continued to walk. Even though it made little sense, a paranoid person was a paranoid person, and Miersck was a VERY paranoid person.  Growling, he walked faster.
"How do we know there aren't more of those things?" he finally stated, growling at her, then turning away with a shake of his head. "There could be any creatures in these bizarre woods and for all we know we're not really alone!"
his voice echoed around them, becoming swallowed in the trees and soft wind..
but despite his persistence to claim other wise, there was not another soul or animal in sight- even the soft chirping of birds faded momentarily because of the moth fae's sudden shout, but then the forests were alive again and cheery.

Miersck gave an angered growl then lowered his head.
"Maybe you're right," he said, slowing down after a time after chewing over the fact angrily.
"But I'd still rather find some more protection if we were to make camp."

Miersck was clearly uptight. Alycia wasn't sure if it was because it had been a long day, because he was all hurt, or because of some other, unknown reason. But whatever the case may be, she decided not to pursue it. And it did make some sense to find a better place to make camp. Just to be safe.

Alycia could tell Miersck was hungry, but she didn't know what to do. She only had a little bit of food and they ate not too long beforehand. Her goal was to make it last as long as possible. So she decided not to comment on food and find a different way to spend time.

Not sure whether or not Miersck would like it, Alycia did the only thing she could think of: talk. "So... Miersck... Do you have any interesting stories? A way to pass time?" As she waited for his response, she admired the trees blowing in the wind. They weren't the harsh and scary trees she had seen in the forest above, they looked kinder and gentle. Or as kind and gentle as trees could look.

Miersck continued to walk forward, rubbing irritably at the back of his neck as he frowned at her question.
"Do I look like a story teller?" he said, hair and wings bristling slightly, but then he turned away, realizing how rude he must've sounded as his wings shook slightly against his back.  "Look, I ain't one for conversation. Let's just find a spot to rest up before nightfall." He finally gave way to a yawn. "I'm not used to traveling much by day." He stared up at the skies again and then took notice of something off in the distance.  Blinking, he raised a hand to shield his red eyes from the sun. There appeared to be some sort of building, and as he took a few steps closer towards it, noted it appeared to be a shack or cabin of some kind. His wings twitched.

"It looks like there's some building up ahead." He hesitated, not sure if they should approach, but as he looked around, it was again confirmed they seemed to be the only humanoid creatures out here.
"It seems abandoned.." even from this distance it appeared the roof on one side had collapsed.  Turning to Alycia he shrugged. "I suppose we could check it out." Then naturally took her hand, pulling her along with him. "Come on."
He didn't need her falling behind, just in case that bear or something decided it wanted to climb down that cliff side and eat them- or some random human showed up to clip off his wings. He gritted his teeth at the idea and moved faster, and soon the pair were before the shack as Miersck examined it with a most grumpy disposition.

"I don't know... as tired as I am, I'm not sure if I'd want to spend the rest of the day sleeping in a place like this."
the door was slightly open, and he pushed a finger against it as it creaked and wailed and moaned it's way open, revealing a moss landen ruin before them. It looked like it hadn't been lived in for years, and the creaking of the door startled a pair of birds resting inside that fluttered out and scattered a dusting of dark feathers.

It startled Miersck as he backed away, but then he blushed, realizing it was just the birds.
Then, glancing around one last time, he gestured to Alyica. "Let me check it out." and then he stepped inside and was immediately overcome by the scent of rotting wood. The floor boards beneath his feet groaned as he stepped inside. There was a small bed i the corner, a vine covered fire place, and the other half of the shack remained exposed to the sunlight, golden ray's tickling inside and basking the grass covered floor as if beneath a honey colored spell.

The place seemed magical- and ancient.
But after a quick walk through, and only finding a few mice and chipmunks scurrying out, Miersck gave a shrug.

"It seems ok." he said to Alyicia, affording her a shrug. "We could just stay here or look for some big tree to sleep in, or a cave." he shrugged again, hands behind his head as he let out a slight snort from his nose.

Leaving the bed for Alicia, he moved past the open gaping hole in the roof and stepped over the tall grasses to a small patch of shade on the other side.
"YOu can have the bed." he said wtih a yawn, stretching out before settlign in, dropping himself to the ground and leaning his back to the wall after tucking his wings against his back. "I'll be fine over here." he started. Normally he slept upside down, but he was too tired to try to bind his feet to the unstable roof (plus it seemed unsafe) and just nestled in, yawning again before peering over at his mermaid companion.

"How do mermaid's usually sleep anyways?" he asked after a time. "Don't you need water or something?"

Alycia had gotten used to Miersck's rudeness and decided that he didn't really mean anything by it. So when he made his rude remark, she just dismissed it. But the fact that he kind of apologized was still nice. Alycia was unsure how he could travel well at night but she assumed it must have been some kind of fae perk—night vision. Seeing that he was trying to look at something, Alycia remained silent and waited for him to comment on it.

A building? wondered Alycia. It seemed suspicious to her that a building would be in the middle of nowhere. But her suspicions were cast away when Miersck said that it looked abandoned. She reasoned that it must have been built, and occupied, a while beforehand. Then the people left and the building stayed. Even still, Alycia was wondering if they should be more cautious...

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when Miersck suddenly grabbed her hand and started moving. With a slight blush, Alycia decided to let him continue holding it. She wasn't sure why she was so embarrassed—was it because no guy ever held her hand? or because he grabbed it out of the blue? or because he was so attractive?—but whatever the case was, Alycia decided that she shouldn't think too much of it.

The shack was obviously abandoned. The appearance gave that away. Alycia wasn't sure how safe it would be, but it seemed safer than anything else they would be able to find. She started to giggle as Miersck got scared by the birds before her own fright came. The idea of Miersck entering a rotting, abandoned, dark room was not a pleasant one. But when nothing broke, Alycia followed after him.

The room was actually quite pretty. It seemed like it would've been a modest room even when it was brand new, but it was cosy.

Deciding to take Miersck's offering of the bed as just an act of kindness and not to be wary of it or to offer it back to him, Alycia walked (carefully) over to it and put down her bag. Laying down into the bed, she was happy that it didn't split down the middle, leaving her with broken bones and embarrassment. Although she wouldn't call the bed comfortable, it wasn't as stiff as she imagined.

Under normal situations when Alycia was stuck with someone else in a room, she would've tried to start a conversation. But the fact that Miersck wasn't a talker mixed with her tiredness made her decide just to sleep. In fact, she had almost dozed off before she heard Miersck's question.

"Huh?" asked Alycia. "I don't need water to sleep. In fact, I don't even like sleeping underwater. It's hard not to float." Sleeping was one of the few things Alycia preferred doing above water. She actually liked to nap on top of the water, with the sun on her face and the bed of water underneath her, but sleeping on water in the night could get frightening. Even if the water animals wouldn't hurt her, Alycia had no way of knowing that a bear or giant crow wouldn't come and eat her. So she preferred to sleep inside.

"How about you? Do fae folk sleep differently?"

Miersck stared at her after she bounced back the question.
"Er- I normally sleep in a tree. Sort of, in a cocoon to block out the sun." He shook his head, rubbing at his eyes. "My kind are more active at night, rising as the sun sets and going back to bed when the sun rises. But since I've left, er.. I've tried to adapt to how the species here live but it's hard." He gritted his teeth, feeling awkward for stating so much.
"I'm a stranger to these areas and it's.. hard to get items I need in trade and stuff if the whole town of people are asleep." He sighed irritably, remembering how upset the merchant was when he went knocking on his door. Then they refused to trade him anything for the berries he collected. He made sure to smash some on the guys window, painting them with their dark red color. His blood boiled in recollection, the simmer brewing in his red eyes as he stared off in thought.

He didn't even want to remember what happened when his wings got noticed.
He visibly flinched at that memory.  Stupid humans!

A fae sleeping in a cocoon actually made sense to Alycia. After all, it was like they were part butterfly or moth. She didn't understand why they were nocturnal creatures, but didn't think too much about it.

What Alycia did understand, however, was the adapting. She had adapted two major times in her life: when she became a slave and when she became free. She didn't really remember much about adapting to become a slave... just that she couldn't do what she wanted and she couldn't go in the water. She wasn't allowed to explore, or talk much, or do anything that would make much of a impact on anybody. But there were other slaves in the house that she did get to know.

Once she became free, Alycia's whole life changed. She could go wherever she wanted—almost. In a way, her slave life prepared her for her free life. She learned how to cook, sew, start a fire, buy things at a market, and other useful things. She also knew not to ever show her mermaid body. But she didn't know how to travel efficiently, fight with beasts, or form any sort of relationship with people. She got used to the travelling quite quickly, but she never learned how to fight beasts. Not really. When she didn't know any of her magic, she would just run and hide. And because she hated to eat meat and kill animals, she never learned how to set traps or skin in animal. She had formed many relationships with various types of people and didn't forget any of them. Some people laughed at her when they met her (she was too polite and didn't know how to blend in, they said)... But one of those people became the first friend she made while she was free. He helped her blend in with the society.

Stuck in her own memories of the past, Alycia didn't respond to Miersk right away. But since he made an effort to start a conversation, she figured she might as well continue it.

"So," Alyicia started, "Why are you travelling in the first place?"

At Alycia's question, his eyes drifted away to the dark mark on his hand, staring at how the skin was paling around it, turning grey. But where the mark was, though hidden behind some bands of clothe, he knew distinctively what it looked like-
the color, black, twisted, gnarled and ugly-  as if he had been burning from the inside out, rotting away...
and it felt that way, too- each time the moon changed and hung full in the night sky....

It was then he visibly flinched, recalling the moon would be full soon again, and he didn't want to think about it- how the mark might grow larger, the pain he would have to endure..

He put his other hand over the bandages and sighed.

"I... had to leave where I once lived. It just wasn't.." his wings twitched at the thought. "Safe."

And it wasn't a lie-
for it hadn't become safe for a time,- and to have witnesses what he had, against darken ash like rain, in the night, cold and deathly- where evil things sprouted from the swirls of shadows and leapt at him, trying to tear him apart....


He visibly tensed, grimacing then looked away from her, shuffling uneasily at the thoughts.

"So, I figure here was better than.. remaining." he added softly.

Alycia understood quite a lot about moving because of safety. That's why she was always moving. But she couldn't imagine the pain of having to leave your very own house and family.

Understanding that this was sure to be a sensitive topic, she decided not to push it. Rather, she attempted to change the direction of his thought.

"I'm glad I found you," Alycia started. "I mean, not only because if I didn't, you would've drowned. But also just in general. I've been travelling alone for a while now. And it gets lonely, as you might know. But it isn't safe to make connections with random people... and it's always painful to have to leave those people you do connect with. But I'm glad I found you."

Alycia was laying with her eyes closed. She didn't expect to fall asleep any time soon—the conversation had woken her up. But she was tired and it was nice to rest her eyes. And, of course, if it was silent for long enough she would probably just drift off. But she expected Miersck to say more so she did her best to stay awake.

At her comment- he was left stunned.
He had no idea how to respond to such a thing as he felt heat rise to his cheeks.
He felt awkward. He felt weird, and even felt his stomach twist into a terribly tight knot after it did a few flip flops inside.
Cringing at the sensation, his wings visibly shivered as he kept his eyes averted, rubbing at the stiffness now present in the back of his neck.

"Yes well, I guess it's a good thing you didn't let me drown," Miersck replied lamely, and felt stupid after saying it, so he said nothing more on the matter, giving a sniff and folding his arms across his knees as he continued to look at the corner.  "Thank you.." he then added, as an after thought- and it felt so strange for his tongue to produce such a word, he felt his wings twitch again.

Alycia fell asleep almost right after Miersck thanked her.

Perhaps it was that she was in a bed, perhaps it was that there was someone else with her, or perhaps she just was more tired after such a long day, but she didn't have any nightmares. And, for Alycia, that was a pretty big deal.

Instead of dreaming of slave captors or being killed, she dreamed of journeying around the world and, at last, finding her family. In her dream, she even transformed into one of the fish. Animal transformation was something Alycia hadn't tried before, but still wanted to. So it was as if some of her dreams were made real within her dream.

Miersck was having a hard time sleep. His mind was still reeling from all of the activities of the day-
and over the mermaid he watched sleep from afar. Realizing he wasn't about to get much sleep, he raised himself off of the ground and stretched and shook out his sore wings with a wince and yawn, then headed over, watching Alycia as she slept.

She looked so peaceful, and for once, he had a chance to study her face.
He would never admit it out loud, but she was rather pretty, and her hair- rather interesting in the way it looked like fire.  He always liked fire.

THough he sneered off the idea and went outside, where the moonlight was enough to cast a glow on his body as he took the time to slowly unwrap the bindings on his hand, fully exposing the nasty mark on his flesh as the moon lit it in it's silver glow. Everytime he saw it, it sent a shiver up his spine; and as he studied it- he knew... the next night.. when the moon was full again....

The mark would crawl and grow- and he would be consumed in such a raw pain that even know he sweated over it, and covered a hand hastily over the mark, his heart pumping wildly in his chest as he found himself suddenly sobbing.

What had become of him?
What did that wicked creature from the ancient forests do?
And would he ever find the answers?
Running away proved useless, for no matter how far away he traveled from his home..
the mark was getting bigger, and soon, he realized, it would be difficult to hide it. Especially from where the mark was pressed- his flesh felt as cold as death.

Alycia was awoken from her sound sleep when Miersck left the building. Even though she was dead tired, the sound of the wood creaking underneath his feet woke her up. She had spent enough time running away that her ears recognized sounds at night that might be danger. Such as foot steps and creaking wood.

Alycia laid there in her bed for a second. She assumed that Miersck probably wanted to be alone, given that he hadn't woken her up. But she knew it was dangerous outside and didn't want him to get hurt. So she slowly raised herself out of bed, making sure she didn't break anything.

She then started walking towards the door, slowly. But although she was careful to not break the floor, Alycia made sure that she created sound. She didn't want to surprise Miersck. As she got closer and closer to the door, she thought she heard some crying. Alycia had experienced many times when she had woken up at night and broken down. And she never wanted anybody to see her like that.

With a pause, Alycia gently said, "Miersck?" She wanted to make sure he knew she was there. In case he missed the walking sounds. She was still inside the building and did her best to make it sound as if she was just calling for him. Like if she had woken up to find him missing. A little bit louder this time, she called out again, "Miersck?"

Miersck tensed, teeth gritted, the whites of his eyes nearly consuming around the red near his pupils at her voice. Then he held his breath when she spoke again. Cursing, he sucked back in his emotions, and began to frantically wrap up his arm.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" the moth fae hissed.  He was not happy.


OOC: Sorry it's short! D:

Getting a response from Miersck, Alycia left the building and walked to him. She knew he wouldn't admit his own sadness and that he'd want to feel strong. So she responded, "I had trouble sleeping. Bad dreams." It was a partial lie, but she hoped it would make him feel better.

Sitting down, Alycia continued, "Not many people know the pain of growing up without their family. I'm glad. The pain can be almost unbearable sometimes." Now she was getting more personal. But not wanting to seem as if she was just being dramatic and wanted attention, she stayed quiet after that. Deep down inside of her, however, in a place that not even she knew about, Alycia just wanted someone to comfort her in the way her parents never were able to.

At the mention of bad dreams, Miersck rolled his eyes. Of course he'd be that unlucky she'd follow him out because of bad dreams. It was probably bad dreams about that stupid bear.
But then at the mention of her family, the loss, he tensed, halting the wrapping of his hand.
Then his wings twitched.

Family...
His mind drifted back to his parents... about the time when he found out they died, and inwardly he began to curse himself as more hot tears pierced his eyes.  They were dead! They were dead and there was nothing he could do about it. The forests he had come from- the very goddess even that sought to protect them- all of it did not matter, it was all rotting away, just like the taint on his arm-
it only took one tendril, one piece of shadow to latch onto his arm, to burn the mark onto him...

And he knew from the look in the beast goddess's eyes that he was doomed...

No, not even this mark could explain to him the loss in which he felt. He never had proper time to mourn before he took off; so afraid of his own shadows, so afraid of the whispers he'd hear int he woods...
So afraid of the mark that sometimes talked to him, of the immense pain it cuased at the full moon...

"It can be.." Miersck forced out, between gritted teeth, his body shaking in rage, and also shaking as he tried to suppress more tears, more sobs. His hands gripped into fists. "And I know this because mine are dead. And soon everything I've ever known will die like they did. My home, the forests, the trees, all of the people, the creatures..." he was looking at her now, red eyes hot like a flame, sparkling like the stars at the tears that threatened to fall.  Then he turned away, angry at himself for growling at her, for forcing his pathetic story at her as he bristled, staring up at the moon...
Would it be tomorrow? Or did he still have one more day?

His red eyes traveled down to the half wrapped hand, to where the faint, black veined markings seemed to bruise his flesh.  How much longer before his hand would turn black?
And when it did? WHat would that mean?
His hand felt awful, awkward and strange..
as if no longer a part of him. Numb.

And when the mark would find it's way up his arm- then what?
And to his neck.. the rest of his body..
and brain?
Would he became as terrifying as those creatures he saw reaching out for him in the forests?
Would he become a monster in the dark?

Alycia was stunned by Miersck's sincereness and pain. She wasn't expecting that kind of reaction from him. She thought that he would just stay silent. Or maybe make a sarcastic comment. Or, if he was in a nice mood, maybe actually give her a hug. But she did definitely expect him to say what he said. It caused her own sadness to leave her. She felt empathy for him.

The one thing that had kept Alycia alive and happy all these years was hope. She hoped that she would find her family. She hoped that they were still alive. And she hoped that they would still love her. But it seemed like Miersck had no hope. Everything he knew would die. Alycia's own personal goals no longer seemed important to her. It was at that moment that she decided to dedicate her time to helping Miersck gain hope and save everything he thought he would lose.

Alycia noticed his shaking, too. She knew he was trying to hold back tears. Without even thinking about it, she turned towards Miersck and gave him a hug, placing her head on his left shoulder. She held on tightly and whispered, "It's okay. No one can see. You don't have to act strong."

After she said this, Alycia started to cry. Not loud, sobbing tears. But silent ones. If one couldn't see her, they wouldn't have been able to tell she was crying. They were tears of sadness, tears of empathy, tears of loneliness. It was the first time Alycia had cried by someone else for years.

As the tears rolled down her cheek, she held onto Miersck even tighter. She didn't want to let go. Not because she was developing a small crush on him, but because she trusted him and didn't want to lose anyone else important to her. She wanted to protect everything she had.

Miersck was caught off guard the moment her arms wrapped around him. He visible flinched, baring his teeth, wings bristling, body tensing as she held onto him fast. And then her words numbed him, struck back any of his animosity that might have been in reserve and for a moment, snuffed out the weakness within him.

It was ok to cry.
But he would not. And then he felt her tears upon him and blinked. His wings twitched.
Yes, he was definitely out of his element, especially when he awkwardly responded to her tears by wrapping his arms around her and just held her. He wouldn't cry. He suddenly wanted to be strong, but found herself needing to hug her. So he did. But he wouldn't talk. There was nothing to say. THe moment was too awkward for him, so he just left it at that, his chin resting ontop of her head, arms around her, keeping her close, and just holding her as she cried.

It was as if silently he was making a vow-
he had to be stronger, had to become better-
then maybe.. just maybe, he'd find a way out of this.
Perhaps it was the way the hug felt, or just the simplicity of having another person nearby to rely on, but it gave him strength he never knew he had. And in that moment, he almost felt as if he could take on the entire world.

OOC: Wow that was really good... it's 'cause of posts like those that I still come back and write every once in a while :)

IC:

Alycia's tears streamed down her face even faster when Miersck hugged her back. She had thought she had hugged him to help him—and that was true—but it was just as much to help her as well. She started thinking about all of her pain, her fears.

Alycia knew that, in a way, she had gotten lucky with her type of slavery. They didn't know she was a mermaid, so she wasn't sold for much worse purposes. The people that found her only took her, and not the rest of her family. She had heard stories of slaves who had seen all of there family separated, with almost no chance of finding each other again. Or slaves who had seen their family killed in front of them. But being torn apart from her family and thrown into a strange world at such a young age still scarred her.

Alycia worried that she would never find her family. More than that, however, she worried that her family had forgotten about her or that they wouldn't want her anymore. Or that they had all died. But no matter what the situation might be, Alycia had decided to find out the truth. She wouldn't stop searching even if what she found was heartbreaking.

She imagined, once again, the time in which she got captured. This scene played in her head so much, and yet she still didn't know where it was. Her home was in the water, not on the land. Every once in a while, like that day, they would venture upon the beach. But Alycia never knew what villages laid nearby or what country she was in. But she could picture the beach perfectly. The almost white sand had also felt so soft in her hands and between her toes. She could smell the salty water and the fish. The beach stretched on for miles long, and was quite wide as well. However, she could still see the field that was across the sand. For now, Alycia remembered the good, not the bad. She kept her mind from wandering to the slave captors. That's what she always did because thinking of them was too painful.

(D'awww. Thanks XD It's fun rping with you. One can not make awesome posts without an awesome partner to rp with XD  Too bad my reply now won't be as awesome. ;_; but I wanted to at least try to get a post in before I went to bed~)

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Miersck continued to hold her, realizing the full potential of what his hug did. His wings twitched as he bared his teeth, gritting them as an awkwardness washed over him. He wasn't used to such things, and was soon feeling doubly awkward as things went silent. But it seemed both of them needed a moment, and when he felt the moment fade away, he took a step back, hands on her shoulders as he looked down at her.

"Hey, look, don't worry about things? Ok?  We.. we've got each other for a time. And I won't let any harm come to you. You know, if you're afraid and stuff."
He hoped he sounded tough, cause he wasn't feeling too brave. But he wanted to be. Perhaps he'd learn in time. Idly, he moved a calloused hand over her cheek, brushing away some of her tears.

"There's no need to cry. I don't think that bear has come back just yet. And we found some shelter for the night. Though to be honest, I'm not really sleepy." He sheepishly rubbed at the back of his neck. "I'm still unused to sleeping at night. It's.. when I'm more awake." his wings twitched again, glowing softly as they captured the moon light. "Maybe.. we should travel a bit and sleep in the morning?" He wrinkled his nose. He didn't care much for mornings. Worst time of the day, in his opinion. "It might be better for the both of us. I doubt I can er, get back to sleep after that." He awkwardly looked away, hoping the moonlight didn't give away the burn on his cheeks.

Alycia had never had such a perfect hug in her life. It felt complete. Not only did it stir up many emotions from within her, but it also lasted the perfect length. She nodded slowly after Miersck reassured her and was tempted to hold his hand on her cheek. It just felt so warm and like he wanted to protect her. It wasn't a feeling Alycia was used to having.

She knew that Miersck knew she wasn't crying about the bear or shelter or anything of the sort, but she appreciated that he pretended like that was the case. Alycia listened to him as he continued to talk. "We can travel in the morning," she started. "I've done it before. It's safer for both of us. And it gives me opportunities to swim with a lower chance of someone seeing me."

Realizing that that may not have been the smartest thing to say, Alycia quickly added, "If you don't mind, of course. I don't have to swim around you. Since you don't like it." Slowing down again, she said, "I just need to swim somewhat often. The older I get, the more I get the urge to go in the water. Maybe it's to make-up for all the swimming I didn't get to do when I was younger. I don't know. But sometimes it seems like the ocean is calling to me... and even lakes and rivers, as well. Though not as often. But if you don't like it, I won't do it. Don't worry."

(I'm kind of not feeling well, but figured I'd post anyways D: cause I wanted to :T )

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Miersck felt awkward, especially when she began to talk about swimming and the water.
"You said you're from the ocean right? Or at least some big body of water like it? Wouldn't you feel more at home there?"
Miersck thought it over before nodding at his internal idea.
"Why don't we get you to an Ocean? That way you won't be itching like crazy to go swimming all of the time. If you're in the sea, you can just swim to where ever you want. The waters stretch on for miles. Or.. so I'm told." He gave another sheepish rub at the back of his neck, wrinkling his nose at the thought.
"I've only ever seen really massive lakes, though I was told those oceans are far bigger and far greater than the great lakes from the forests I was raised in." He frowned a little, wings still tense as he observed her.
"I have no real place to go. Going there is as good as any."
And perhaps it might be far enough away for him to avoid the curse that he felt reaching out to him from the home he had abandoned..
Though little did he realize the problem was already seeded within.

(ommmmg two things: 1. I hope you feel better. 2. One of the problems of not going on as often is that I always forget what I posted a while back and can't find it -_- So if I repeat something or change something, sorry. Either ignore it or tell me and I'll change it.)


Miersck's sudden change of heart surprised Alycia. Before, he was harsh and afraid of water. Now he was being nice and trying to get her to water. She was hesitant to believe it... maybe he just wanted to get rid of her. But Alycia didn't believe that. He seemed like the type that couldn't lie—the brutally honest type.

After a brief pause, Alycia responded. "That's a sweet offer, but no thank you." Alycia was looking for her family, not the ocean. She had seen it before and always left immediately. There were too many bad things about it. And more than just the fact it reminded her of her lost family. Her own thoughts putting her in a bad mood, Alycia decided to distract herself and talk more. "I'm looking for information right now. That's... part of the reason I'm travelling inland." As well as the reasons she was trying not to think about. "I'm searching for transcripts about mermaids. The problem is, I have no idea where they are. So I'm just town travelling right now."

Faking a smile, Alycia added, "Plus, I want to try to help you. Didn't I tell you that?" She didn't quite know what Miersck was having troubles with, but it obviously was something. "So where do you need to go? I know you said that you have no real place to go, but isn't there anywhere you'd like to visit or anything?" Her smile was real at this point. For some reason, thinking about helping Miersck made her feel happier. It gave her a selfless (or mostly selfless, at least) purpose.

(OOC: Naw, you're fine! I know what you mean, though! I have so many threads that sometimes I tend to forget some minute details and when I repeat myself or make an error I feel dumb :T  but it happens so no worries!)

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Miersk blinked at her, his face sagging a little. He had no idea how to answer her at first, and simply gritted his teeth.
"Er, well, the thing is," he began, rubbing again at the back of his neck, then rested his hand there with a slightly frown, his red eyes going towards the horizon. "I really have no direction. I don't even know where I am, so I have no desire or want to see any certain place." he tried to shrug off the weird feeling he was getting then looked down at his feet.
"I just wanted to be anywhere but home." he muttered, and continued to walk forward. "So I guess since none of us has a real direction, we could just move forward. And who knows, maybe whatever town we stumble into, we could find some information about mermaids, or whatever."
Why did his neck still feel stiff!? Dropping his hands away from it, he sighed and peered over at Alycia, feeling irritated.
"Why is a mermaid looking up documents, or whatever, about her own kind?" It seemed kind of silly.

Alycia found it odd that while she was doing everything she could to return to her home, Miersck was trying to get as far away as possible from his. But, of course, she didn't say anything. She could still tell it was a sour subject and seeing as he was moving away from the somber mood, she didn't want to ruin it again.

But his question didn't help with the whole mood thing. "Well..." she started. "There are a few reasons. Because I have no idea where my family is, I'm hoping that I'll be able to find information about that. It's also good to have information about my kind, you know? Other than the little I remember about my childhood and what I have discovered so far, I don't actually know that much about mermaids as a whole. Especially things that we can do. I know that I can breath under water, talk to sea creatures, and stuff like that. But my abilities have gotten stronger as I've gotten older, and I still feel like there's more for me to discover. So I'm hoping there's something I can read that can explain the mermaid mysteries to me."

Truthfully, the only reason Alycia had to find the documents was because she didn't grow up with her family. And she knew that. It made her quite sad. But, at the same time, it was an adventure. It distracted her from her bad thoughts. So she was a little grateful, too.

"Should we start walking? To the next village, I mean?" Alycia looked at Miersck with an expression of curiosity before replacing it with a smile.

For a long while, Miersck stared over at Alycia, digesting what she said before nodding.
"Yeah, I... I guess. No use in trying to go back to sleep now."
So he moved forward, and it was awkwardly silent for a time. Miersck was still thinking about what she said, so finally, breaking the silence he found himself asking, "So like.. you really don't know anything about your kind?" It was hard for him to fathom. He could see why she'd want to learn more. If he knew nothing about who or what he was, he'd be desperate to seek information as well. It was a curious thing, really, and he found himself wanting to help her all the more. After all, how can one identify with themselves if they know not what they are?
"I mean I know some stuff about mermaids, but probably even less than you. The kind we had were er... different." he blushed, thinking about the differences. And particularly because the differences were hte mermaids from the forest were no where near as attractive as the type Alycia was.

Alycia followed behind Miersck, wondering where they would end up. Or if they'd even get out of the forest. Maybe they could live in it if needed. She was pretty sure it was possible.

Miersck's voice cut through her thoughts. When he said that he knew some stuff about mermaids, her eyes lit up. She had forgotten that he had mentioned them before because of all the drama they had encountered. Though it was quite obvious to her that he did not have a good image of mermaids, she still wanted to know about them.

"Won't you tell me anyway?" she asked curiously. "Even if they are different, they must have some sort of blood lineage with me. Otherwise, I want to know anyway. I've been studying mermaids all over the place. I've read the good and some of the bad. But there is never any harm in learning more." Mermaids were one of the few subjects that Alycia was always passionate about.

Miersck blinked.
He was taken off guard she was so interested in the river mermaids. He knew they were similar, but in all honesty, they didn't seem anything like Alycia. His eyes went over her before he blinked again.
"Well, er.." he scratched nervously at the back of his head, giving a shrug.
"There's not much to tell, I mean." she shrugged. "They're about the size of salmon, maybe a little bigger and appear more fishy than you. They've got fins on their arms, their legs aren't legs at all but are grey tails, like most of the other fish in the river. Even their features are more fish like. THey have glossier skin, no hair, really fat, fish like lips that never close and huge, unblinking eyes. They even travel in schools like fish and tend to spend most of their time in mud holes that collect along the river banks. They're sort of interesting, I guess. They create these hive like cities where they dwell and tend to eat other fish. Their teeth are sharp and scary for it."

Miersck pressed his lips together, looking Alycia over again as he studied her hair.
"So like, as a mermaid what sort of abilities do you have? The ones in the river could jump really high out of the water, and fly a little even and had some water born magics. but for the most part, they keep to waters cause they can't live without it for long. I think they're more fish than human, unlike you." He gave another shrug. "You seem to have a lot of, you know, human qualities about you compared to the river mermaids I'm use to. I don't know what I'd do if the river mermaids ever got as big as you." He shuddered at the thought.

The mermaids that Miersck explained to Alycia didn't sound any different than normal fish, but she didn't say anything. They were probably just mutated fish. Maybe the water was poisoned or something.

Pushing this thought aside, Alycia decided to answer his question. "Well, like I just said, I still think that I'll be able to do more magic than I am now. I just feel like there is more for me to discover. All I can do right now is swim extremely fast, like all mermaids I've heard about, and talk to water creatures. I'm better at communicating with water animals when I'm actually in the water, but I can still do it some in my human form. That's another thing, I guess. I can turn into a human. Or turn my tail into legs, at least. I'm still a mermaid at heart."

After a brief pause, Alycia added, "I can also perform the magic I told you about earlier. I don't think that's a mermaid thing, though. Since I learned it from somebody else. But maybe my mermaid blood helps with it or something. How about you? What fae abilities do you have?"

Fae folk always reminded Alycia of mermaids. They seemed like a cross between moths or butterflies and humans, just like mermaids were a cross between sea creatures and humans. Both species seemed to have special benefits and sometimes heightened magic. So, naturally, Alycia was curious about faes, too.

Miersk listened with mild curiosity, though when the conversation turned to him, he blinked and tensed a little before looking away.

"Well, I mean I can obviously fly," he began, anxiously rubbing at his shoulders. "You know, when my wings aren't so torn." He grimaced at the reminder they were still a bit sore, but now that he thought of it, it seemed they were healing okay. He lightly moved them to test it, but didn't try much more than that before continuing.  That wast he nice thing about the powder on his wings. It helped to bind wounds.

"Though most magical abilities I have are just to create small illusions. They work best at night, since shadows are easier to manipulate and fool creatures that might be stupid enough to think I'm a snack." He shrugged. "I can do.. er, other things as well. The powder from my wings work good for binding wounds. Then there's silk. I can er.. make silk threads for whenever I need to cocoon." He felt odd talking about it, but idly lifting his wrist, pointing it towards the grass before demonstrating and shooting out a thin strand.

"It kind of works like a spider's web. Though I'm much larger than common spiders, so it works well for what I need it for.. which is mostly to create a cocoon or safe area when sleeping up in trees during the day." He shrugged again, picking up the thread of silk and idly played with it, weaving it lightly between his fingers. "But I don't have much more magic than that. Just manipulate imageries that others can see." ANd he turned to Alyicia, tilted his head then waved a hand before her, demonstrating as his hand faded from view in the daylight, but from time to time, the illusion would bubble, and his hand would be shown through it, as if the illusionary magic had slits in it, like a blind, that opened only at the right angle, breaking the trick, the magic. But then he waved the spell off, and the illusion was no more. "Simple tricks to bend light and shadows.." And again, he shrugged and turned away, keeping his eyes to the path ahead of them.

For the most part, what Miersck talked about made sense to Alycia. But it still captivated her.

Even though Miersck said that he could "obviously fly", Alycia hadn't been completely sure if that was true. After all, she had heard of winged people from Yoreiq who couldn't fly... or fly very much, at least. She wasn't quite sure what the powder he was talking about was. The way he talked about it made it seem like his wings naturally produced it. That made her think about whether or not it was possible to gather the powder and create some sort of medicine with it. If so, that could've helped her a lot with sealing up his wounds in the first place.

Alycia had absolutely no idea how Miersck created the silk. It seemed illogical. How could he make something out of nothing, and so quickly? One of the first things Alycia learned about illusions is that they are never real. No matter how real they look, smell, or even occasionally feel, they could never be made real. To create something out of nothing was alchemy work—and even they used some materials.

So Alycia was slightly suspicious that the thread trick was just an illusion. After all, illusions made sense to her and they were something Miersck could do. It seemed like his type of illusion, however, was based more on science than hers. Accepting that as it was, her mind wandered back to the thread.

Walking closer to Miersck to try to break some of the awkwardness built in the gap between them, Alycia asked, "Can I feel the thread? Is it soft? Hard? Could you hurt someone with it?" It is even real? Those were all things Alycia was wondering. She didn't want to say that last one out loud in case she hurt his feelings. And Alycia had seen some crazy magic before... much crazier than thread coming out of someone's hand. But even still, some proof would help calm her mind.

Miersck had been temporarily lost in his conversation, but when he realized Alycia had moved closer to him he tensed, his wings bristling.
"Er.. I.. I guess."

He had no idea what to say to her. He found his thread something normal. It's what moth faes just did. But the fact she was kind of enthralled by it and wanted to erm, touch it, made him feel intensely awkward. So he took a step back, lifted up his wrist, and when he moved to release a strand, he accidently released it at her face.

The thread landed with a splurt on her forehead, feathering away from it and sticking into her bright red hair. And all Mierck could do was stare, his face going red.

"Er, sorry about that I-" And as he moved to help her get it out of her hair, he forgot the other end was still attached to his wrist, and the thread was sticky enough that as he pulled, it gripped onto Alycia and pulled her forward, causing Miersck to let out a noise as her body was suddenly being jerked into his arms. And yes, he had managed to catch her, holding her close, and as he peered down into her bright eyes, his face went more crimson than his eyes.

When Miersck had accidentally shot a strand of his sticky stuff onto her forehead, Alycia started to redden. However, the color of her face at that time was nothing compared to how red it got when she got pulled close into Miersck. She knew what must have happened, of course, but the thought that he did it on purpose passed her mind before she quickly dismissed it.

Her face leaning up towards his, she admired his gorgeous red eyes. Now that she was so close to them, she could even see speckles of gold. At this time, Alycia could have looked up at his hair or over to his ears, but instead her eyes wandered downwards. She took note of his attractive nose before her eyes rested on his lips.

They looked so perfect to her, and suddenly she had an urge to lean forward, just a few inches, to close the gap between them with a kiss. Astonished at her indecent thought, Alycia's face grew even more red and she quickly moved her focus back to his eyes. His beautiful eyes.

Not knowing what to do about the situation, and not really sure if she wanted to do anything about it, Alycia kept admiring his eyes. She really hoped that he thought she looked as perfect as he did to her.

OOC: woah, totally misread your last post, zozee. Hope this fixes it!
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At the moment their lips nearly touched, Miersck's eyes popped WIDE open. His wings tensed up, feeling as if they might shoot straight up into the sky, his entire muscles tensed, his skin burned, and his heart felt like a million electrical fire works that were being shot off inside of him all at once. And all he could do was stare at Alyicia, his mind went in a whirl.
And then he blinked and saw Alycia's blue eyes.
And he blinked again and saw her blush.
He had no idea what to say in that moment as he looked at her- realizing, with another mental rush: Woah.. we're so close we could have kissed...

But he promptly shook off the idea, taking an awkward step away from her, forgetting, they were somewhat attached as they simply bumped heads again.
"Ouch." Miersck visibly winced and reached up, yanked the thread that connected them and turned away, his entire face burning with embarrassment and rage.
"Err.. s-sorry about that I..er... that normally doesn't happen"
And he'd see it to it that it would never happen again!

OOC: haha this totally fixes it XD

IC:

Alycia's moment of enchantment got broken off when Miersck unsuccessfully tried to pull away from her. To her surprise, she felt a tinge of unhappiness. She was actually hoping that he would kiss her! She shook the thought out of her head as Miersck turned away, her face still a little red.

His awkwardness didn't help things, either. Even in bad situations, Alycia had a certain charismatic touch, a smoothness in her talking, that would show whenever she said something. But that didn't make the situation any less awkward.

"Don't worry about it," she started, also turned away. "Stuff like this happens all the time." Now she was just trying to get rid of his awkwardness. "Not being stuck together, of course. But unpredictable things. Once when I was little I was running in the wind with my hair blowing behind me and I ran under a tree. The wind had lifted my hair up to the low branches of the tree and they actually got tangled together. You can imagine my reaction when I suddenly got yanked back by the branch," she said, chuckling. "I had to wait for what seemed like eternity before my master came and got me untangled." Realizing that she accidentally said something about her slave life, Alycia suddenly gasped and covered her mouth. She tried not to bring it up in front of other people—even those she wanted to kiss.

Feeling like any way that she could've tried to cover her words up would seem suspicious, Alycia merely stayed silent, hoping that Miersck didn't catch what she said.

Ugh, it was so awkward. He rubbed at the back o fhis neck that was tensing, grumbling a bit through a breath as she spoke. It helped to distract him momentarily, but his laughter was somewhat forced.

"That would hurt," he admitted, rubbing his own head and raking a hand through his hair. Albeit his was shorter and much thinner than hers, he knew that something like that ought to hurt. He inspected her hair at the claim. "Your hairs really long, so I suppose that's erm, some sort of danger that comes with it.."

Ok, that sounded lame. He rubbed again at his neck. Ugh. He could feel the muscles knotting already. He needed to sleep or something, he was growing groggy and irritable fast.

"Do you mind if we rest up? I... we didn't sleep at all last night and I'm getting kind of tired. Maybe we can sleep in the trees so one of those bears doesn't waltz up to us..."
or something.

Yeah... he needed to rest. That would help deter his thoughts from, well... what just happened.
What did just almost happen anyways? Maybe he didn't want to know.
Or admit that he kind of liked it.
Just thinking about her being that close made his heart flop around inside his chest.

Ugh.

Alycia was super confused. Miersck had wanted to walk at night and sleep in the day, but now he started asking if they could sleep? Deciding that either he suddenly got tired or was trying to get rid of the awkwardness, she didn't say anything about it.

"We can sleep," replied Alycia. She was actually getting pretty tired. That being said, she didn't think she'd be able to sleep with the previous event in her mind.

Looking around, she didn't see any trees that looked big enough to sleep in. She wasn't worried about a bear coming for them... Even if she was a little frightened by them, she still had a strange sense of curiosity. For some reason, it seemed as if it wouldn't hurt her. That was just her gut feeling. It wasn't like she imagined the bear wanted to be friends, but she just didn't worry about it. It was as if someone or something would save her from it.

After all, Miersck had saved her last time. She hadn't worried, just stood there, and he saved her. Thinking back at it, Alycia realized that it would've been easy for him to just run, trusting her to follow. Any normal person would've. But he had instead waited for her and made sure she was safe.

This on her mind, Alycia gently said, "Thank you again. For helping me away from that bear." She would leave it to him to find a place to sleep.

Miersck was still feeling awkward, so at her comment, her found himself blushing even more.
"Er.." he rubbed lightly at he back of his neck. "It was nothing really. I couldn't leave you behind to get eaten." His red eyes scanned the area, still looking for a suitable tree, but not finding many. The trees in this section of the world were a lot smaller than home.

Home..
He found himself suddenly home sick for the Ancient Forests resting many, many miles away.
"These trees are kind of small," he muttered, trying to think of some sort of idle chit chat, then took a moment to pause and stretch out his wings. It was then he realized.. "Hey, I think my wings are nearly healed." He stretched them out again, giving them a few test flaps and found himself actually smiling. "A little sore, but I think they're finally on the mend!"

Seeing his wings flutter made Alycia quite happy as well. Since it was partially her fault they got hurt in the first place, she felt responsible. She was still curious how they worked—how long could he fly?—since she had never actually spent time with a fae before. However, she didn't want to overstep her boundaries or seem even weirder than he must've already perceived her to be.

So instead Alycia just watched them with a sense of wonder. "Great!" she exclaimed. "I'm glad. If your wings are anything like my tail, a part of you would feel like it's missing when you can't use them." She experienced many long years with that part of her missing, and she had no desire to lose it again. Luckily for her, she had never experienced any injury to her legs or tail. But because of that, she had no idea what would happen if she did. If she cut her leg and then transformed into a mermaid, would she still have a cut? It was something Alycia wanted to know but didn't want to test until necessary.

Looking back at Miersck, Alycia continued, "So... do you hurt your wings often?" It was a sad attempt at small talk, but she figured it was better than nothing.

"NO!" He snapped, but then realized his rudeness and blushed. "Er, that is to say, no, I never really  was dumb enough to hurt them."  Wait, did that mean he was dumb now?! UGH! His brain just was not allowing him to reply appropriately, and the more he looked at her bright eyes and face, the more his blush grew.
"It's just er.. I did hurt them real bad once.. but I was really young then, just a kid. Thankfully my sort of wings can heal quickly, or so I'm told." He frowned. People did hunt his sort for the type of powder on his wings and it's unique healing qualities, after all.
"So like... what about your tail? Don't you miss not being able to use it while we're walking on land?"

Alycia flinched a little when he snapped at her, but she realized that she must've touched a tough subject. Not wanting to push what he said about hurting them when he was little, Alycia instead decided to just respond to his question.

"Every second," she replied, looking at his face and flushing a little. She didn't normally talk that much about her tail, especially not the specifics. Or to a man that she was attracted to. "It's like... it calls to me. The closer I am, the stronger the calling. Have you ever had something you really wanted to do?" She was trying to think of something she could connect it to for him. "Or like, something you were to eat for dinner that you looked forward to all day? Even when you weren't thinking about it, it was still at the back of your head. You can just never get it out. That's what it's like for me."

Looking up at the sky and reaching her hand upwards, Alycia continued, in a calm and dreamy voice, "The only other thing that calls me are the stars. There's nothing I enjoy more than swimming in a starry night, with all the stars reflected upon the water. It feels like I'm in space—like nothing can challenge me." Her hand closed, as if it was holding a star, and she held it close to her heart, closing her eyes.

Slowly opening her hand and eyes, Alycia suddenly turned back to Miersck. "Do you understand?"

"Well, yeah I guess," Miersck said as she began to explain to him. Though as she went on, he found himself at a loss of words. What she spoke about was pretty deep, and really, only his mother, and perhaps the forest guardian, Pithro, had ever really spoken to him in that manner.  So when she turned to ask him if he understood, he only found himself staring at her, his mouth open, gaping like a fish.

"Err..." He rubbed nervously at the back of his neck. "I.. I guess so." But he shrugged, trying to rid himself of this uncomfortable hot feeling he was experiencing near her. "Then why don't you swim? I mean, we could always find a river at night and sleep during the day. Then you could swim in it and stuff, you know.." he gave a sniff and looked away, kind of embarassed to be talking in this manner. "So you could swim in the stars and stuff."

This time Alycia didn't catch onto Miersck's uncomfortability—she was too distracted by the conversation.

After a brief hesitation, Alycia replied, "I've thought about it. And sometimes I do. But rivers aren't good for it, unless they're really wide. You can't see enough of the reflection. And they don't seem as free." Though that wasn't why she did it. "More than that, though, it's dangerous. Mermaids are expensive. People buy and sell us. We can easily become slaves." She wasn't going to mention that she was a slave, though. Not yet. "I've encountered slave traders before, but luckily it was only when I was in this form. It isn't nearly as suspicious, even if I do still have some mermaid features. They didn't even look at me. That's why I usually avoid swimming altogether."

Of course, she met Miersck when she was in the water. By no means was she expecting that; she was in the middle of nowhere and could've even avoided the meeting if she had pleased. But with the sounds of drowning he made, she wouldn't have done any different. Even if he had been a slave trader. Luckily, however, he was so much better than a slave trader.

"Slaves?" Miersck grimaced at the statement. He knew orcs and other villainous creatures from the forests kept slaves, but he supposed mermaids, well her kind, must be rare or posses some sort of magic others wanted. He couldn't deny he was fascinated as well.  Her tail was certainly something... different (though at the time, he was more repulsed than fascinated. He was drowning, after all). Perhaps it was as petty as just wanting to chop of their tails that drove slavers into wanting to collect mermaids. He couldn't say.
He knew well about how greedy men could be. His kind, after all, could rarely leave the forests. His parents had warned him never to leave, only loosely explaining his type of fae would be hunted, their wings and the powder offering medicinal properties so rare to the outside world, it would be suicide to leave. Yet here he was, far away from the protection of the enchanted and ancient forests.

"Well, maybe we can find a huge lake, or even get you to the ocean or something." he said, not sure what else could be said on the matter. But he felt bad for her. It was probably like him not being able to fly or sleep during the day. He could hardly imagine what she was going through.

"That's good you can at least avoid them... I never ran into slavers or anything like that," he gave a shrug. "I try to avoid people all together. My parents had warned me about humans." He made a bitter face. "Saying something similar to what you told me. They're greedy and want to poach you for your magics." And he, quite frankly, did not want to be poached.

Alycia, finally getting tired of just standing still, decided to sit down on a log conveniently laying at her right. It looked a little rotton and brittle, but it was stronger than it looked, seeing that it held her weight just fine.

She nodded at the first thing Miersck said, not really wanting to talk about it anymore. In a way, talking about water made her both happy and more longing at the same time. Kind of like nostalgia. She motioned for Miersck to come sit by her as she starting putting her hand in her bag again. She didn't quite know what she was looking for, but her sixth sense told her she'd find something.

After doing this for a few seconds, she still couldn't find anything. So she stopped trying and instead broke the silence. "People aren't all bad. I've met many good ones." And bad ones. "You can't judge a whole species based on a few of them." Alycia ran her fingers through her hair, a habit of hers when she didn't know what to say. She eyed her bag, which she had set on the ground, still trying to figure out what she had been looking for. There was always the option that it was something she used to have, or something she'd get. Such stuff had happened to her before.

Miersck moved near her, taking a seat. It might be good to rest their legs. He was irritable anyways. All of this daylight traveling, ugh.

"I don't know. I don't aim to trust them anytime soon," Miersck said with a bit of a sneer. Then eyeing her as she fumbled through her bag, he blinked and inquired. "What are you looking for?" his stomach then rumbled as he realized.. "Errr.. perhaps we ought to look for some food again."
And his stomach gurgled again in reply. Yep.. he was hungry again. Stupid stomach. It would also explain why he was becoming irritable again.

OOC: I'm trying to reread this entire thread... it's actually pretty interesting since I forgot everything. But it's also long. o.O

IC:

In some ways, Alycia felt like she knew Miersck quite well, but she also didn't feel like she knew him long enough to push anything that he seemed to dislike. Unless it directly conflicted with her beliefs, which this didn't.

Feeling a bit hungry herself, Alycia replied, "I don't know what I was looking for, but food sounds great." Thinking back, she realized that they ate almost all of it, and she wanted to keep the rest as long as she could. "I have a little more leftover from earlier. However, I'd rather look for food first. I'd rather keep that for now... for emergencies. Do you have any food getting skills?" She felt odd for saying 'food getting', but she didn't know a better way to put it. She preferred to avoid meat but would still eat it—as long as it didn't come from the water. So she didn't want to say hunting. And gathering just sounded weird to her. So she stuck with 'food getting'.

OOC: Yeah, they've gone through a lot and really in a short period of time :O
and Miersck is already growing as a character, but then again, he's really out of his element X3

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Miersck shrugged at her question.
"Well yeah, I'm used to having to help gather nuts and berries for the town. It was what everyone helped to do." He gave a sniff. "At least from where I was from." His red eyes took her in with some thought. "I Suppose we could gather some berries and other things for dinner. And if you want, we could roast them. Sometimes we make jams and things with the berries, but I doubt we have enough time to do that. It's a process. But hey.." he looked around. "Maybe we can even find some honey or syrup trees?" He was suddenly craving something sweet, and honey might be nice after such a long adventure from what the pair already endured. "Sometimes nuts are good fire roasted and dipped in honey." His stomach grumbled. Ugh, he was getting hungry. But no sooner did he rise and offer his hand to help her from the log did he hear something. A twig snapped.
His ears perked up and he turned in that direction.
"Did you hear something?" and he went quiet, and the woods were quiet, too.

Alycia couldn't help but dream about the food Miersck was talking about. Even though it was just stuff out of the woods, it sounded better than anything she'd had in a while. Especially the honey. She loved sweet things.

Then Miersck asked her if she heard something. She hadn't, but she trusted his ears. His hot, pointy ears. Immediately retreating to her defensive mode, Alycia grabbed her bag and pulled out a dagger in its scabbard. She always carried it with her, but had never actually cut someone with it.

It was one of the first things that Alycia had bought after gaining freedom. Clothes, food, and a dagger. She hadn't been searching for a weapon, since she was good enough at blending in, but it called to her. Thinking back at it, she realized that her sixth sense had been strong even then.

The scabbard was quite intricate. It had a sky blue gem about the size of a large grape on the front, as well as twists and turns engraved within the metal. They seemed randomly placed, for Alycia had spent a good amount of time looking at it without recognizing a shape. The handle of the dagger had similar swirls, as well as an indent at the top, like there was supposed to be another gem there. If one looked at it closely enough, they would see a small hole directly in the middle, no bigger than a needle. The blade itself wasn't even extremely sharp. And yet something about it called to her, so she bought it from merchants who were unaware of the power it held.

So Alycia then pulled the dagger out of the scabbard, though she had no idea how to correctly hold it. She figured, however, that if someone or something attacked them, all she needed to do was attack back.

Miersck's eyes continued to scan the area, looking this way and that before he shook his head and muttered.
"ANd the forest is quiet..." then he added, "Too quiet." As he sighed. "Maybe.. we should press on. Let's try up this way and see if we can't get lose whatever it is that is out there." He just hoped it wasn't another bear again. Ugh. He could play the brave one one time in his life, but he wasn't sure if he could do it again.

Miersck comment about the forest reminded Alycia of the unsettling feelings she had experienced earlier. When she first saw the forest, everything seemed eery. There was no sound and it was surrounded in mystery—more mystery than most forests. And then there was the bear. She hadn't questioned it too much then, but she had felt a presence of magic from it. These things on her mind, Alycia gripped the dagger tighter, picked up her bag, and stood up slowly and quietly.

Turning towards Miersck but still glancing away occasionally to make sure nothing snuck up on them, Alycia whispered, "Let's go." She then started walking the way he mentioned as worry began to consume her thoughts. To calm herself down and keep her mind logical, she took some deep breaths. She had been without her cloak for long enough to know it wasn't on here, but she wished she could've pulled the hood over her. It always gave her a false sense of protection.

As Alycia approached him, he instinctively took her hand and guided her near him. His red eyes continued to search the way, ever wary, but he could still see nothing, or hear nothing at all.
"This is just so strange.." Miersck growled, his hand squeezing her lightly, as if to ensure it was still there, or even (inadvertently) a comforting gesture. "I could have sworn I heard something. But come on, maybe we ought to move faster.." And his pace picked up, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread wash over him. Something was out there.. but what?

OOC: I'm still debating what it is XD Hopefully I'll come to a decision in my next post but feel free to toss any ideas my way or add your own twist when you reply X3

FOR NOW, THE SUSPENSE CONTINUES!

If she wasn't so frightened, Alycia's face would be bright red from Miersck holding her hand. But in her fear, she barely even noticed it. Before, she was just worried because he was worried. There was more than that now, though. There was some sort of presence nearby that made her uneasy.

In fact, it was similar to the feeling she had with the bear. Magic. It felt as if there was some sort of special, dark magic. Although she wasn't sure if that meant there was actually magic (since she had never actually been able to sense magical presences before), it made her extremely uncomfortable. She kept up with Miersck's pace and tried to see if she could pinpoint where the feeling was coming from. She was unsuccessful.

With one of her hands in Miersck's and the other holding a dagger, Alycia felt at least somewhat safe. But the more time that passed, the more of an ominous feeling she felt. And yet the forest was completely silent again. Too silent.

As they crested another hill and were running just underneath a thick canopy of trees, Miersck heard the snapping of a twig yet agian. His face twisted, shooting up towards the noise as he noticed as squirrel leaping from one tree to the next, then once it caught eyes with him, he stumbled to a halt. The squirrels eyes flared red a moment before baring it's fangs and leaping at the pair.

"Woah- what the!?" Miersck broke his hold on Alycia's hand and as the pair separated, the deranged squirrel dropped between them. Miersck's face twisted again.

"What the broken acorn's is that!?"
And then the squirrel turned around, baring it's teeth again as it leaped towards Miersck, snapping it's teeth at his hand.

"Hey- woah, watch it!" Miersck cried, dodging the attack, but the squirrel was vigilant. It was rushing up his leg in spirals and once it got to his shoulder, Miersck let out a cry of alarm as the squirrels bright red eyes peered back at him angrily. But before the creature could attempt to bite him again, Miersck noted a peculiar, large tick-like creature on it's back. Batting the squirrel aside, it tumbled to the ground as it let out a cry of annoyance, but before the squirrel could get him, Mierskc pinned it down beneath his boot and leaned over, tearing the peculiar creature from it's back. But when he  did so, the squirrel stilled and lay silent, but the peculiar, spider like creature (that looked more tick like, or had some sort of twisted seed that had replaced it's body nd thick legs) began to squrim.

"AH!" Miersck dropped the thing, but before it got a chance to scurry, he stomped it beneath his boots. Lifting them up, he made a face at the goop it left behind.
"By the forest guardian, that thing looked like a smaller version of one of the dark creatures I saw in my forest home!" His heart was pounding well into his ears. What the hell was one of those things doing here!? And on a squirrel of all creatures? Is this why it was possessed? And it was then he felt a pain tingling in his hand, the one baring the mark as he grunted, but swallowed away the pain.

Alycia managed to stop when Miersck stopped without falling, but she hadn't seen the squirrel. So when it landed between them, she let out a little screech. The squirrel seemed unfazed from the fall, however, as it immediately attacked Miersck. She debated doing something to help Miersck, but she was afraid she might end up hurting him more, instead. Plus, she didn't know if she'd be able to bring herself to attack a squirrel. 

When Miersck stomped on the little black thing that seemed to be controlling the squirrel in some way, Alycia felt some of the ominous presence disappear. It was still there, however, perhaps in hiding. She was still holding her dagger, but not in a defensive position. Since the feeling of immediate threat was gone, she had let her arms hang loosely at her side.

After hearing what Miersck said, Alycia worriedly responded, "You had creatures like this in your forest?! But bigger? Did they do the same thing—possess other animals? I'm assuming that's what it did to the squirrel."

She paused for another second before worriedly adding in, "That's the first creature we've seen or heard since that bear, wasn't it? No birds or bugs or other squirrels, even. Doesn't that strike you as odd, seeing that we're in a forest?" Alycia threw a worried look Miersck's way, hoping that he'd reassure her in some way. But she was near positive she'd be disappointed, especially with his brutal honesty.

Miersck's eyes widened at her words.
"Hey.. you're right.."
He blinked and slowly turned around, looking at the forest that was still mostly silent. though off in the distance, he heard the hum of insects and birds. Setting his jaw, he released a breath through his nose and took her by the hand. "Come on, we shouldn't linger here. Let's head further down the path. I think I hear forest creatures that way."
And as they continued, he thought he heard the sounds of water bubbling off in the distance, and as they rounded a bend, it seemed the forest had come back to life along with the welcoming rush of a tall waterfall set against sharp cliffs cut from the mountain side. Lush green grasses and blossoming flowers littered the small valley where a deep pool of water had gathered before thinning out into a small river.

"Hey.. maybe we can stop here for a drink." He suggested, actually smiling hen he looked down at her. "And who knows, maybe the waters deep enough you could swim?" He shrugged and took her by the hand and began to guide her that way.

The brilliant scene was soon forgotten by Alycia when Miersck grabbed her hand. Well, except for the water. She could never forget water. But now that she didn't feel in danger like before, she actually fully processed what was happening. And the fact that they weren't running for their lives and yet he was still holding her hand made it even better.

Feeling the warmth emitting from his hand, Alycia gave it a quick squeeze before replying, "Would you be alright with that? I know you don't like mermaids that much. So if you'd rather I stay out of my mermaid form... well, that's fine I guess." If he wasn't there, she would've already been in the water. Waterfalls made her especially happy—they were just so beautiful. But Miersck had done more than enough that she'd be willing to skip a swim if he'd like. Especially since she had already swam the day before, and she had gone much, much longer without water before.

That being said, it seemed to Alycia like Miersck was warming up to her. She hoped that meant he'd warm up to her mermaid form as well, seeing that her soul was, and always would be, a mermaid. Even when she wasn't in that form. Although she wasn't trying to convince or pressure him into letting her swim, the hope was undeniably in her eyes.

Miersck blushed at her question.
"Er, I never said I didn't like mermaids." he stammered. "I just..e r.. don't care much for water." Though in his defense he quickly added, "Though you did splash me using your tail the first time I met you." Ugh, water. Couldn't she just like, get into the water and be happy they at least found some? He felt bad she kept wishing to be in the sea or something and well, this seemed like the next best thing. Ad he also felt.. strange, considering they were still holding hands as he looked away, feeling embarrassed, his cheeks growing more red.

Alycia decided it was time to do some playful teasing, since he was obviously embarrassed.

"You never you you didn't like mermaids? Mmm... I remember you talking about poison-sacs and how horrible I was. And you can't really blame me much for the tail thing. I saved your life and you basically told me to get lost." Thinking back on it, even though it was just the day before, Alycia realized she wasn't the least bit angry anymore. She added in a laugh to help him know she was just teasing him.

"If you don't mind me swimming, however, then by all means I will. However, it would be awesome if you'd give me a minute or two of privacy, since I can't quite swim with pants on..." Or underwear. But she wasn't going to say that part.

Miersck's face reddened even more.
"Well, I didn't mean YOUR kind had poison sacs!" he spat back, bristling, then when he realized she was teasing, he wilted a bit in defeat, staring sheepishly at his feet as his blush burned hotter.
But if he thought he was red before, at the mention of HOW she needed to go about transforming, he didn't need her to spell out the details for him to realize what she meant. His lips flattened as his face went scorching red.

"Er.. r-right!" he croaked, feeling awkward how his voice came out funny when he agreed. "Y-yeah, no problem. I can erm, turn around so you can have some privacy to remove your pants. Er.. tha tis to say, since you don't want to rip them when your tail goes off, or something."

Just shut up, Miersck! he thought, growling at himself when he finally turned away, but not before giving her a once over. Ugh. What was wrong with him!?

Alycia, seeing how red Miersck had become, felt both amused and a little shy. It was clear how embarrassed he was. It made her a little embarrassed, too. So when he turned around, she quickly went to the edge of the water, took off all her clothes except her corset, and folded them in a neat little pile. She then jumped into the water, feet first, feeling the transformation take place as she went in. She was careful not to make so big of a splash as to get Miersck wet, since she didn't want to make him angry.

When she floated back up, she shouted out, "You're safe! I have a tail." Although she was only wearing a corset for her top, she didn't feel bare at all. In her mermaid form, the only way she'd feel bare was if she had no top on whatsoever. Miersck had also seen her like this before, so she didn't think it was too big of a deal.

Of course, naturally being a mermaid, Alycia looked ten times better in the water than she did on land. Her eyes perfectly matched the water, as well as her tail. Her corset showed off her small waist and not so small chest. But what changed the most was her hair. Normally a light, fiery red, her hair turned darker and more burgundy colored. It became sleek and clinged to her face. Although Alycia never felt ugly in her human form, even she knew she was an attractive mermaid.

"Oh, as if reminding me you have your tail out makes me safe," Miersck retorted, but when he spun around, he found himself gaping at her. She was beautiful, with her red hair plastered against her body, and her eyes as vibrant and lively as the sky.
Not to mention she was only wearing a corset.
It was then he caught himself gaping with his mouth open and closed his lips, keeping them flat. Though he found himself with no words to say.

Alycia, laughing at Miersck's response, replied, "You've seen me like this before! Why so surprised?" With a lighthearted laugh, she submerged herself again, taking in the underwater scenery. To her delight, and reassurement, there were fish in the water. That made her think that she was just being paranoid before. She could hear them talking about fish stuff, such as food and taking care of the young. There were some who were swimming around her. With their location, Alycia figured it was unlikely that any of them had ever seen a mermaid.

She smiled and stuck her head out of the water again, looking at Miersck. "I don't suppose you want to join me?" she asked, jokingly. She threw a smile his way for no reason at all, except that she was happy and was glad he was letting her swim.

Miersck went red faced against when she teased him, but watched her as she swam about. SHe seemed happy, and at home here. He found himself smiling, although perhaps a bit sadly as he began to realize the pair of them were from totally different worlds. It was probably for the best he stopped.. erm.. thinking she looked totally hot all wet and in the water. And when she teased him about joining, he thought even his ears felt red.

"I can't swim," he grumbled. "Though I might want to rinse off beneath the water fall if the waters there aren't too deep. I feel all sweaty and grimy after we got chased by the bear." he admitted. And well, she did make the water look fun-
Even if he hated water.

Miersck, thought Alyica, Saying he should go in the water?! Even though she hadn't known him for a long time, she doubted that happened very often. The surprise must've been apparent on her face, seeing that her eyes widened and her mouth opened up a little.

"I'll check then," she replied, after processing what he said. The waterfall was close enough and her eyesight was good enough that Alycia just dunked her head under water to see how deep it was by the waterfall. Trusting her measurement skills, she put her head above water and said, "It only looks a few feet deep. Maybe three or four. You going to try to walk over there?" The rocks leading to the waterfall looked a little slippery, but she wouldn't stop him. She'd catch him if he fell, anyway.

_________
OOC: My gosh you respond so fast! I can't think that fast XD btw i'm gonna go to bed soon.

OOC: yeah! lol sorry I type fast XD
and I'm going to bed soon, too >>;
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Miersk thought over what she said, though he didn't like the water, something about it seemed..well.. enticing..
and maybe he wanted to put on a good front.... for her.
"I could try to get over there by those rocks. They seem sturdy enough, and my wings can keep me balanced." he jerked a thumb back towards his wings as he demonstrated with a light flutter. Then, drawing in a deep breath, he sized up the first jump he'd have to make and took to a run, before leaping into the air and landing on the first rock. He wasn't sure if he ought to fly over there (just yet) so he just let his wings remain open when necessary to keep him balanced, and soon he was going from rock to rock, until he was at the end where he paused and simply stared over at the water fall and the waters that foamed out and rippled beneath it, the misty breaths creating rainbows against the air.

Seeing that Miersck was perfectly capable of crossing the rocks safely, Alycia again went under the water. She swam to the waterfall and watched, still below the water, Miersck finish crossing to the waterfall. She noticed the gracefulness of his wings and just him in general. He seemed to know how to control his body, unlike some people who were to lanky or big for their own good. In a way he just seemed... perfect. Realizing that her crush had developed this far, Alycia blushed underwater. Her thoughts were distracted, however, when Mierck finally made it to the waterfall. With the intent to surprise him, she popped her head out and said, "Boo!"

Miersck just about had a heart attack. He gave a cry, his body twisted ungracefully before he lost his balance, arms pin-wheeling about and KA-SPLOOSH- he fell RIGHT into the waters.
Flailing about (despite it being much more shallow here) he began to glub about and frantically splash about.
"Hey!" he was taking in water, and gurgled and spat out through desperate breaths. "I CAN'T SWIM!" he frantically cried.

Realizing that Miersck's balance wasn't quite what she thought it was, Alycia hurriedly swam over to him. "Stop squirming!" she yelled, not wanting to get kicked or hit. "You'll only make it worse, anyway." She wrapped her arms around him, being careful to avoid his wings. That way, she could make sure his head stayed above the water level. Of course, she had no problem realizing how close together they were, and wondered if he cared that her tail kept brushing his legs.

Trying to get these thoughts out of her head, Alycia focused on the problem. "I can think of a few things we can do. Firstly, you could try to walk or float on the water to shore. Secondly, you could get on my back and I could swim you to shore while trying to keep you out of the water. Or, lastly, I could get all the fish in the water to push you to shore. I'm not sure that would work though." Although she was trying to remain calm and composed, Alycia was having troubles, seeing that his gorgeous eyes were just inches away from hers.

Miersck was having a hard time listening. Panic sunk in, and he splashed about, legs entangling around her tail as he slipped on her scales, gasping as he plunged through her hands and dunked back under the water, though once beneath the surface, he opened his eyes a moment, seeing a wall of bubbles before him, though when they parted, he got a good look at her body under the water and found himself simply staring, before he suddenly inhaled a bunch of water and began to flap around once again. It was then his legs found the bottom and pushed him up to the surface where he gasped and sputtered out more water, and then he suddenly froze, realizing in that instant...
He was able to stand in the water. Blinking, his red eyes looked around before his face twisted peculiarly, even his lips itching in wonder.

"Hey.." he blinked. "I can stand in this water." And he turned to Alycia, smiling. "I'm standing!"

Alycia watched as Miersck found his way to standing in the water. It was like watching a baby learn to walk. When he turned to her and exclaimed his newfound skill, she just laughed. After all, the water wasn't even that deep.

With a pleasant smile, Alycia replied, "Good for you! If you'd like, I could teach you how to swim sometime. Or at least how to use your arms to swim... since you don't have a tail." She tried to remember when she first learned to walk, but couldn't. It was just something she always knew to do, or at least it felt that way. But she wouldn't have been surprised if she had looked at frantic as Miersck did, learning to stand in the water.

"Yeah.. maybe," he said, blinking  as he hesitated to take a step, but found a slimy piece of rock and let out a gasp as he fell forward, landing with a splash against Alycia. He had braced himself and was tense and clinging to her, as if prepared to become swallowed by the waters again, but when he popped one eye opened, he blinked, opening both eyes then as he stared at her with a blush when he realized.. their faces weren't even an inch apart. And their bodies were pressed together, limbs entangling around her tale, his arms clutched around her. It was then his lips twitched, his eyes only staring at her, and in that moment, he forgot how to breath.

When she saw Miersck start to fall, Alycia expected him to start flailing about again. She wasn't even that surprised when he fell onto her since she was pretty sure he'd grab whatever he could to stay upright. But when he didn't move afterwards—didn't stand back up or act like he was drowning—then she was surprised. She saw his face as clearly as he saw hers. She could feel the heat coming out of his body, even in the water. She stared into his brilliant red eyes and once again felt herself wishing to kiss him. But this time she accepted the thought, instead of pushing it away. That isn't to say that she went ahead to kiss him—she didn't—but she realized that there was almost nothing more she wanted at that time. So once again, she just stood still, looking into his eyes, and waited to see how he'd react to the situation. For the third time in fewer than two days, their faces were less than an inch apart.

For what felt like eternity the pair stared at one another. Miersck couldn't remove his eyes from hers, and felt his heart pumping loudly within his ears.
They were so close they could have accidently kissed. And his face flushed at the idea; but before much more could really happen, something ELSE startled Miersck, as a dragon fly buzzed just between their heads. Gasping, Miersck jerked back and slipped, finding himself once again submerged beneath the waters, arms flailing out, clinging onto Alycia as he dragged her underneath the waters along with him. And it was here, with their bodies smashed together beneath the water's surface, did their lips actually touch in a watery and completely unplanned and unnatural, kiss. And it was only then Miersck halted his flailing, his eyes wideneded as he suddenly reared back, all the air in his lungs escaping in to a gasping of bubbles and soon, he was choking on the waters again.

OOC: looool, sorry, I couldn't resist.

Is that... a dragonfly? Alycia briefly pondered before Miersck went flying backwards. Apparently he was scared of dragonflies and snakes. Before she knew it, she was underwater too. This didn't affect her much, seeing as that being underwater was basically the same as being above water. Except she felt more comfortable. It seemed that their bodies were still being pressed together, the thought of which made her face turn pink again.

That pink slowly turned into red and everything to the tip of her ears got unnaturally hot when she felt Miersck's lips against hers. The surprise of it made her eyes open wide, giving her a perfect view of his beautiful red eyes that were also opened large. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Alycia suspected that he didn't mean to kiss her. His reaction would've confirmed that. But her thoughts were so jumbled and yet empty at the same time that she didn't realize it. It was as if she was thinking of everything, but nothing, all at once.

Alycia immediately let go of him, filled with pure embarrassment. She would've lifted him back above the waters or swam him to shore, but the thought of it just made her mind go even crazier. She couldn't let him drown, however. Even if that kiss wasn't perfect, it was a lot better than the mouth to mouth she had performed on him when they first met. She had almost forgotten about that, since it meant almost nothing to her at the time. It wasn't like it was a real kiss then. She didn't even know him. But now he meant something to her, and he made her mind spin in circles, in circles, in circles.

So distracted by her thoughts, Alycia forgot about actually helping Miersck. But when the water started to feel strange, she went straight back to reality. Her first instinct was to look at Miersck, who seemed to have drifted about five feet away. She could see the current underneath him, going in circles as if it was trying to form a whirlpool (except not nearly fast enough). And idea sparked in her head and she mentally commanded the water. Left and up, left and up, left and up, she repeated in her head, over and over again. And sure enough, the current actually lifted Miersck so that his head was just above the water and he was moving left, towards the shore.

OOC:  :)  :)  :) :D :o  ;) :o  ;D   ;D <—that was my reaction to your post.

OOC: LOL. Yeah, definitely an interesting 'first kiss' to say the least XD maybe next time it'll be more of a real kiss!? WHO KNOWS XD
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Miersck gasped, sputtering out water as he was drawn towards the shore. Once there, he clung onto it for dear life, gasping for breath and dragging his soggy body and wings onto it before collapsing ontot he ground and slicking a hand through his wet hair.

"Gods.." his face was still burning as he lay there on his side, face up towards the sky, eyes closed. "I really hate water."

If it wasn't for her embarrassment, Alycia would've been overjoyed about what she had just done. Controlling water currents wasn't anything she had thought about even attempting before, and yet she could do it. But instead, she ducked her head underwater, her face almost as red as her hair. It wasn't as if she was hiding—that would've been impossible with her bright red hair floating to the surface of the water—but she was hoping that being under the water would help cool her head. It wasn't as if he actually tried to kiss her. She heard him mumble something but didn't even try to understand him, even though she'd be able to if she wanted to.

Alycia watched the fish swimming by in attempt to distract herself. They were swimming around her, as fish always did. They loved mermaids. There was one that was bigger than the rest, with sparkling blue scales. Then there was a school of small fish, all weaving around each other. Another fish swam by, catching her eye with its red scales that had tidbits of orange on them, just like Miersck's eyes... Alycia's face reddened even more.

After a time, Miersck recalled Alycia had been with him and wondered what had become of her. Blinking, he sat up and looked around, but it wasn't hard to notice her red hair in the water. He stared at her for some time before asking, "Hey.. er.. Alycia?" What was she doing anyways? But then he recalled the kiss and flushed a little. But he fell and it couldn't be helped.. right!?

After a few minutes of silence, Alycia managed to calm herself down. After all, it wasn't like Miersck tried to kiss her. She knew that, she was just surprised. If she hadn't been in her mermaid form, she probably would've stayed embarrassed for hours. But she was stronger and more comfortable as a mermaid, so she managed to mask the little embarrassment she had left. She heard Miersck call her name, so she popped her head back out of the water and said, "Yes? Sorry, I was just looking at the fish." It wasn't really a lie.

Miersk was still blushing as he looked at her.
"Oh."
ANd he felt even more awkward as she stared at her.
"Er.... guess I'm not meant for the waters," he muttered after a time, staring over at the world around him, his wings now slumped in a soggy mess upon his back.

Even though Miersck said he wasn't meant for water, Alycia disagreed. He looked hot with his hair drenched and his clothes sticking to his body. Avoiding eye contact, she responded, "That's too bad. Water is amazing." Then again, she was a mermaid. Of course she loved water. Alycia glanced at Miersck again, her face only a little pink. This is way too awkward, she thought before sighing.

Miersck ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
"Yeah, it might feel nice and all, but I don't trust it," he replied bitterly, he too, avoiding her eyes as he peered down at the ground. "And now my wings are all soggy again." He grit his teeth. "At least the sun it out.. even still.." he stretched out an arm and a wing and then gav ea shake of his head as he looked back at them. "It'll still take some time ofr them to dry. But maybe we should just get moving or something." And he slowly stood up off the ground.

Alycia couldn't help but feel guilty. Miersck was here for her and it was her fault that he fell in the water, let alone was near it. She could hear the bitterness in his voice and could tell how upset he was about his wings. But there was no way she could dry them, not that she knew.

After hesitating for a brief second, Alycia replied, "Let's just keep heading where we were." She paused. "And unless you're leaving me behind," which she wouldn't blame him for, "I'm going to need to get out of this water and change. Meaning that I would appreciate it if you turned around or something." Alycia closed her eyes for a second and regretted her choice of words. She was sounding so stiff and formal, talking as she did to people she had never met. She didn't even talk like that when she first met Miersck, mostly because she was busy teasing him.

Alycia started swimming towards the shore, assuming Miersck would do as she asked. But as she got close, she suddenly stopped, sighed, and blurted out, "I'm sorry!" She took a deep breath before adding, more calmly, "You wouldn't have come by the water if none of it was for me and you wouldn't have gotten all wet." And that bad kiss wouldn't have happened. "I shouldn't have tried to convince you to come with me." Alycia ran her fingers through the right side of her hair, getting it out of her eyes. She was tempted to look downwards—to avoid Miersck—but instead raised her eyes so she had a clear view of him. Her large, blue eyes made their way up his body to his big, red eyes—and they only pausing at his wet wings, where she felt even more regret.

Miersck never felt so much guilt, regret and pity before in all of his life than the moment he stared back into Alycia's eyes. The look she gave him was enough to push all selfish, bitter thoughts and resentment of the water aside, at least momentarily.

"Look you er.." he said, turning away with a blush. "It's not your fault it happened. I could have said no.. " then he added in a mutter. "I knew the risks."
But his mind was racing a mile a minute, but he felt too awkward to say or do anything else, than to keep his back towards her.
"And I wouldn't leave you behind over that." he added, more softly as he stared down at the ground.

Alycia was slightly reassured when Miersck took the blame, but she just shook her head. She was pretty sure that he was just saying that so she wouldn't feel bad. But at least that meant he didn't hate her... though he wouldn't look her in the eyes. Then, as she was about to say something, he added in his last sentence. That he wouldn't leave her behind.

In truth, Alycia wasn't actually expecting Miersck to leave her behind before. She wouldn't have blamed him if he did, but she hadn't expected it. So the fact that he just confirmed that wasn't what made her pause. It was how he said it. The softness in his voice made it seem tender and raw, and she knew he was telling the truth. It was the most sincere he had sounded since he was talking about his past.

She left a moment of silence hang between them. She felt as if she said anything, she would disturb the serenity. Finally, Alycia responded, just as softly as Miersck had been, "I'd never leave you behind unless you wanted me to. I just want you to know that." She paused again before gently adding in, "I'm going to change now. You can stay there faced the other way or go somewhere else. The sun is out high so it shouldn't take long for my tail to dry."

Reminded that she needed to ditch her tail and well, what that entailed, Miersck went rigid but nodded his head.
"Er.. oh, ok." he said, flattening his lips and feeling his face growing hot at the idea, all the while his mind when back to the almost kiss.. then the actual kiss. Ugh.

This was going to be a long journey and the only thing that distracted him from the awkward moment was when he stared down at the gruesome looking black mark upon his hand, and he began to wonder what phase it was the moon was in..
was tonight the full moon. He grit his teeth, inwardly swearing for not having paid attention. Sadly, his new companion was too blame. He was too preoccupied with her than to keep a close eye on the moon.

Alycia wasn't quite sure what Miersck was doing—it seemed as if he was deep in thought—but he said okay so she went ahead and dragged herself out of the water. For a little while, about twenty seconds, she looked at her tail. It glistened in the sun, making the blue and green colors even more brilliant. As her tail dried and started to turn into legs, however, Alycia quickly grabbed her clothes that she conveniently left at the edge of the water.

After she completely redressed herself, Alycia went to wringing out the water from her hair. Her hair, of course, would take much longer to dry than her skin. For now, it would still cling to her body like before but it wouldn't be soaking went... just a little damp. "I'm done, by the way," Alycia stated, hoping she didn't catch Miersck off guard.

She walked over and picked up her bag, facing the opposite direction of Miersck. She mentally wished that he couldn't see her face... her bright red face. The kiss was embarrassing enough as a mermaid, in which she was at full confidence. But her insecure human self couldn't handle it. She would do her best to act normal, but even Alycia knew that her charisma wouldn't shine through when she couldn't even think straight.

Miersck was never good at following directions, so when asked to keep turned around, he grew antsy after a time, and eventually found himself peering over his shoulder; just at the right moment to catch the glistening beauty of her scales, even as they melted away into legs, it was a wonder to behold. Then as she began to turn back his way, he turned away before she could notice, went rigid, and his face, beet red.

"Er.. y-yeah, that's good," Miersck said, still not turning around. Even the back of his neck was red at this point, so was his ears.

When Miersck didn't turn around, Alycia started to fret. Was he too angry to look at her? Did he hate the kiss? How could she expect him to still like her? Alycia sighed, hoping things could go back to normal. She sat down against a nearby tree and pulled out a blank piece of paper, her quill, and some ink. When she worried, she drew. It calmed her down. Plus, she knew she had been slacking off lately, focused on travelling.

With a sigh, she dipped her quill on the ink and started to paint. Alycia had painted so much that she barely had to put any thought, or time, into her art pieces anymore. And the person she had decided to draw was one she had drawn so many times before that she knew it would only take about ten minutes to do a rough sketch. She wondered if Miersck would do anything by then, or if he would just keep standing there. Figuring it didn't matter either way, Alycia placed the tip of her quill on the paper and started painting.

Miersck remained rigid, standing awkwardly for a bit, shivering his soggy wings from time to time before giving a curious peek over his shoulder.
"So er.. is your tail all dry or something.." As if that was the real reason he wasn't turning around- but then again, he didn't want to get an eye full when he wasn't supposed to.

Alycia had succeeded in drawing a head before Miersck startled her. He hadn't even moved, so she wasn't expecting him to say anything. A look of confusion passed over her face before she responded, "Yes, and I'm clothed..." Didn't she already say she was done? Whatever the case may be, she decided to continue with her drawing.

Looking down, she was happy she still remembered so many details. Alycia had horrible memory, which was quite a downfall for her illusion skill. It was impossible to transform into people when you didn't know what they looked like. She did her best to counter this disadvantage by spending her energy memorizing three different looks. But even still, she needed to practice drawing them every once in a while to make sure she didn't forget them.

The person she was currently drawing was the first person she had added to her drawing repertoire as well as the strangest. After all, it was the only person that Alycia had no memory of ever seeing. She had drawn her as a little girl and had continued drawing her since. And while Alycia could draw imaginary people, for some odd reason she had never been able to make herself look like them. This was the only exception.

Miersck glanced curiously over his shoulder, and noticed her with some paper and ink in hand. He furrowed his brow and turned around.
"Were you drawing me?" he asked defensively, but when he approached, he noticed it looked nothing like him. "Er.. oh, who.. or what are you drawing?" he asked, feeling a bit sheepish in the moment.

Alycia noticed that Miersck walked over but didn't do more than glance up. She assumed that they'd probably be leaving soon, and she wanted to finish her drawing before that. But she could still talk in draw. "It's a little girl," Alycia explained, even though she knew that much was obvious by looking at it. "She's one of the people I can make myself look like. The more I draw somebody, the better I get to know how they look and the stronger my illusion becomes."

Alycia lifted the quill off the paper and rested it in the ink bottle. She opened her bag again and pulled out a folder—the same folder she had just grabbed a blank piece of paper from without opening it before—and handed it to Miersck. It had over fifty painted pictures in it, and they were all of the same person.

The girl in the pictures looked about eight years old. Her hair was wavier than Alycia's, but not curly. The girl had a fragile looking face and thick eyelashes, like a porcelain doll. In the pictures with color, the girl had blue hair—the exact same shade of blue as Alycia's eyes—and pretty green eyes. Her skin was tanner than Alycia's. Not all the pictures were drawn from the same angle, but it was clear that they were all wearing the same dress. The top of the dress actually matched Alycia's shirt. It was the same forest green and was just as tight, except for the sleeves. The neck was more similar to a v shape in the picture than the round collar of Alycia's dress. Also, of course, the eight year old girl didn't have any curves. The dress continued down becoming looser and more free before ending a little above her ankles. She didn't have any shoes on.

In her current painting, Alycia had only finished the head and was getting started on the top of the dress. 

At the revealing of so many paintings and drawings of the little girl, Miersck's jaw dropped open and he stared at them in awe.
"W-wait.. you... painted all of these?" And his face twisted in disbelief and awe. He shook his head. "And she's not even here for you to draw from as reference?" His face still twisted, nose scrunched, one brow raised, he began to sift through the drawings, his soggy wings twitching lightly as he shuffled through them.
"W-wow, holy acorns, these are good!" the moth fae exclaimed, as he blinked his red eyes and looked over at her, even smiling just a little, before glancing at the last few pages, then recomposing himself again. "I didn't know you were so.. talented." he said, scratching at the back of his neck sheepishly. "You could probably do this for a living you know. I heard people pay good coin to have their pictures painted."

Miersck now turned his eyes down to the paper she held.
"The corset kind of looks like yours," he mused, looking down at the line art, his hands tracing over top of the air just above the picture, just a few inches from it, so that his shadow appeared to be moving across the girl in the drawing's cheek.
"She looks kind of like a doll." he said, still looking at her, and a faint smile returned to his lips.

Alycia had started painting again after handing Miersck the folder, but even that couldn't keep her from blushing as Miersck threw praise upon praise onto her. She had shown people her drawings before, though not many people, and they all said she was good. But Miersck acted like it was the best thing he had ever seen, and she was not expected that. She nodded to both of his questions but didn't risk looking at him. She knew her face would turn as red as her hair if she looked at him while he was complimenting her. "Thank you," she managed to say quietly after he mentioned that he thought she could make a living off of painting. She had never thought about it before.

As Miersck got close to the painting she was working on, Alycia rested her quill in the ink bottle and raised her eyes so that she could see his face. He was looking at the drawing, which was probably the only thing that kept Alycia from turning bright red. She wished she could draw those eyes of his... they reminded her of ember, always burning and not willing to go out without a fight. And the way his eyelashes framed those eyes of his was just perfect...

Deciding to stop her train of thought before it got too far, Alycia explained, "I bought my shirt based on this drawing, actually." She was surprised he noticed the resemblance, even if it was somewhat obvious. "And I use that doll aspect to her as well as I can." Alycia smiled mischievously while adding, "Nobody can harm or mistrust an eight year old innocent looking girl, so I use her whenever I get caught doing something I'm not supposed to be doing." Like sneaking into a locked part of a library. "That's why I told you earlier that you didn't have to worry about me getting into trouble."

Even as his eyes studied it, his face became crestfallen, his eyes becoming distant at her words as his smile faded away into a frown. Even his wings seemed to wilt as he whispered, "Not everyone would be so kind to children. Some creatures only know how to destroy without reserve."

But then he turned to her, his red eyes meeting her blue ones.
"Maybe sometime I might let you draw me.." and he turned away, blushing and rubbing at the back of his neck. "You know.. just er.. to let you keep practice, or something.."

Alycia could see the sadness take over Miersck's expression and wanted nothing more than fix it. But when he said what he said about children, all she could think was, I know. After all, she had been kidnapped and made into a slave when she was five. Even still, a little girl saying she was lost and happened to wander into a place she wasn't supposed to be was a lot more believable than a teenager saying the same thing.

When Miersck looked into her eyes, Alycia was sure that he would see her own sadness hidden in them. She was just about to fake a smile to hide that sadness when he said that he might let her draw him. So, instead, a completely genuine smile spread across her face as her eyes lit up. "I would love that!" she exclaimed, eagerness clear in her voice.

Alycia picked her quill back up, knowing she had less than five minutes left of her drawing. "So," she continued, changing the subject, "Weren't we going to eat about an hour ago?" Now that she mentioned it, she was getting really hungry.

"Yeah.. err..." and as Miersck was scratching at the back of his head, he thought he noticed something over on the horizon.
"Say.. is that a carriage?" He hadn't realized they had wondered so far, a town was nearby, and a small carriage was rolling into town. He could hear the jingling of the reins and the clopping sounds of the hooves upon the ground. Blinking, he shrunk back, but remained defensive, his eyes watching the carriage before it vanished.

"Wait here.." he said, and stalked forward, like a predator would it's prey, and was surprised when he came to the edge of the clearing he saw a road. His face twisted in pure confusion, but then as he noted what direction the carriage had come, he had to wonder...

So moving back to Alycia, he informed her, "There's a dirt road up ahead. Maybe it could lead us to a town?" Though he paused just in mid sentence to realize..
"Though.. shoot, I probably shouldn't go into any place looking like this."A nd eh didn't mean soaking wet. His wings were a dead ringer for what he was, and he didn't want to make a scene, or become some sort of spectacle when people saw him with a soggy wet pair of moth wings.

When Miersck mentioned a carriage, Alycia immediately put the quill in the ink container and stood up, looking where he was looking. And she saw the carriage. How could neither one of them have heard the horses or earlier? Her suspicion only grew when Miersck found a dirt road just beyond the clearing. Alycia's mind immediately warned her of magic, but she dismissed it. She didn't have the ominous feeling she felt earlier.

Alycia looked at Miersck's drooping wings and couldn't help but agree that they could easily raise a scene. Fae folk might be common enough in big cities, but it might raise suspicion in a small town, which this one was sure to be. She paused, thinking about the options he had. Her cloak had been thoroughly ripped apart, she didn't have any other clothes and her shirt would be too small for him (and she didn't want to wear just a corset, anyway), and she didn't know how to put an illusion on other people. But... maybe he could. "Can you make an illusion just to hide your wings?" Alycia asked. It was the only idea that came to her mind.

"What?" Miersck turned to her, his face, once again, twisting in confusion at the question she brought up. Turning his face away, he grit his teeth.
"Well er.. to be honest.. I don't know. I err.. never thought to use it on them, though I suppose it could.." he rubbed at the back of his neck. Boy were his muscles there tense. And his face felt as hot as summer. He looked away, frowning a bit. "Though the magics only work in one direction. I'd have to do a lot to make that seem convincing. I mean.. you know like.. only walking in one direction and stuff.. though I suppose I could try to pull it off."
ANd he drew in a breath, keeping his eyes averted from her as he felt himself sweat. Should he try it now or not? Though he didn't voice his question outside, it was evident by his expression what he was fretting over as he looked back to the road. And he felt silly he couldn't answer her. They were HIS magics, after all. Shouldn't he know them more intimately?

Alycia had forgotten about the fact that his magic only worked in one direction. She knew he had explained it to her earlier, but he had also explained a bunch of other odd things about his magic that made no sense. Like that weird sticky stuff appearing out of nowhere. And only walking in one direction would work until a building or person appeared. Meaning about five seconds.

With a sigh, Alycia wished Miersk was some sort of genius. She was horrible at coming up with plans and thinking so hard was starting to give her a headache. As a last effort, she suggested, "I don't suppose you can put your shirt over your wings? It seems dry enough and your wings aren't brightly colored, so it shouldn't be see through, right? And we can just pretend like you got those holes from a bear... seems reasonable enough, seeing as how we were attacked by a bear. We can go straight into a clothing shop and get us both new cloaks, too."

Miersck gave a frown that was as soggy as his wings.
"I.. I suppose I could try creating an illusion on more than one plane but I... I never tried to do one like that before. It.. it takes a lot of concentration to do it in one direction, though I suppose it wouldn't hurt to er.. at least give it a try...."

And drawing in a careful breath, his wings began to fade away, the illusion working to those standing before him.. and at his rear... and maybe even to those at his sides..
He was so intently focusing on faded away his wings, there were certain angles the illusion would have been 'seen through' but for now, it seemed as if the magics had work. Though he had broken out into a light sweat, he released his breath and turned his red eyes to Alycia.

"Th-there.. did it work? Can you see them?" He hoped she could not. Maybe if he kept practicing, he could keep them out of sight for a while.

Alycia watched as his Miersck's wings started to disappear. It was so strange, seeing them just go away like that. It made her wonder how other people saw it when she put illusions over herself. She thought it was an immediate change, but perhaps that would be even stranger than a slow change.

After looking at his wingless back for a couple seconds, Alycia started drawing again. "Looks good!" she started. "I wonder if I should change my looks, too. Red hair might be too conspicuous if it's a small town. I would normally hide it with my cloak but..." Alycia said, fading out. She also realized that Miersck had red eyes and white hair... he would probably stand out more than her. "Should we start walking? Oh, and how long do you imagine that illusion will last?"

She had finally finished the painting. The girl looked just the same as all the drawings, with not even a single detail missing. Alycia smiled, picked up the painting (which had already dried due to the full force of the sun), and put it in the folder along with the rest of the pictures of that girl. She then put the folder back in her bag and stood up, ready to go if Miersck was.

Miersck felt relieved when Alycia confirmed he was able to do it, and his expression brightened a bit, though he might have looked tired, or strained from the ordeal, which was only confirmed as he wiped off the sweat from his brow. He gave his wings a light raise, observed they were still well concealed behind the illusion magics before nodded over to Alyica.

"I'm not sure how long I can keep this up, but come on. Let's not waste any more time. The quicker we get into town and are able to get supplies, the quicker we can leave it." Though he wasn't quite sure how he migh tbe able to pay for anything... and tonight was the full moon. he could feel it, his veins already chilling him, though any chills he might endure he was ignoring for now. And the throbbing pain that had begun on the mark upon his hand was unrelenting. But that too, he ignored, and only added to the illusionary burden he must now carry with him as the two approached the dirt road.

It didn't appear as if anyone else was on the road, so he gestured to Alycia. "Come on, if we're quick, we won't have to run into anyone traveling out here. Less people, less questions." Though as he began to step out onto the road, a black bird came diving at the pair from over head. Startled, Miersck let out a noise and just about had a heart attack, and hadn't realized he had jumped protectively infront of Alycia when it had occurred.

His heart was beating heavily within his chest as he muttered something beneath his breath and glared daggers at the bird's retreating form.
"Stupid black bird," And before Alycia could stop him, he was grabbing on firmly to her hand and he stormed away, pulling her along with him at his side. "Come on, let's get out of here before any other crazy forest animal thinks it's funny to dive bomb us." Oh if only he had a sling shot.. he'd totally nail that cawing bird in the head!

Alycia happily followed Miersck onto the road, glad to finally be heading to a town again. The bird startled her, however, and gave her an unsettling feeling. She could only hope that leaving the forest would leave all of the ominous feelings behind.

She watched as the bird flew away and almost jumped when Miersck grabbed her hand. She stumbled after him, her head spinning. It threw her off enough when he had held her hand before they had kissed, and it was even worse now. She didn't think he would even be willing to touch her at all, but here he was, holding her hand with a firm grip.

Alycia looked at Miersck's eyes, wondering what he was thinking. He often seemed at a far away place when they weren't talking. She returned her gaze to the path, being careful not to fall. After all, falling would result in the loss of his hand. Alycia really wished she had her cloak to hide her widespread blush behind. Instead, she tried to think of other things. Like what town they'd go to and if there would be any information on mermaids. Luckily, they were pretty far inland so she wouldn't have to worry about the ocean calling to her.

The path was long, but the town was soon coming into view. But by then, the weather was making a change. WHere it had once been beautiful and sunny, dark clouds were rolling in, threatening for a storm. A flash of lighting off in the distance along with the gentle purr of thunder announced it's presence, and soon, powerful winds were sweeping in as the storm drew nearer and nearer. Though it hadn't started to rain, it looked as if the sky was about to let loose a down pour.

Shivering against his already wet clothing, Miersck grit his teeth.
"Looks like we're almost at the town, and just in time," he gestured to the clouds. "I'd hate to be caught up in this storm. Come on."

OOC: If Alycia gets rained on- would she transform? Or does it have to be like river or ocean waters she's submerged in? Just curious XD

As the clouds stretched far to obscure the sun a few drops strayed from their bellies too early, posing the possibility of dropping on one of the travelers as they drew closer to the town. Sure it was in sight but there was still a stretch of road to take before their journey was complete. It was a wonder if they'd make it there before the rest of the droplets followed suit.

Just as it got darker it became more humid. The chill of the winds was strong, suggesting that this flash storm would be hell once it truly began.

There was a beast in the hills, initially small enough to be overlooked but quickly getting closer. It was not moving with a particularly strong purpose; with a hide so wiry and filthy as it had there was no reason to worry about the rain. Instead it kept its head to the ground, beady eyes searching while its nose dragged along the ground, sniffing rapidly. The thing was not so quickly discerned as it had the features of many animals but it was one thing.

Huge.

And it likely picked up some sort of scent for as it got particularly close it grew more hasty, occasional steps growing into bouts of jumping and dashing before it inspected the ground for that trace again.

It galloped onto the road behind them, lifting its head once to peer at them. It froze in its tracks; not necessarily tense but definitely alert. The thing's gaze was unblinking and its muscular front legs shifted very slowly, preparing for something.

OOC: I've thought about that, and I've decided yes. If her legs become thoroughly wet, they will transform into a mermaid's tail. If they don't, she's fine.

IC:

Alycia looked at the town, then at the clouds, then at Miersck. With her eyes opened even wider than normal, she said, "Let's get a move on." Her hand still in his, she gripped it even tighter and started a light jog, pulling him behind her. She did not want to get caught up in a storm. Especially this close to town when somebody could see her. And if her legs started to turn into a tail while she had pants on... well, it wasn't a very pleasant experience.

As a few drops of rain fell onto her cheek, arm, and collarbone, Alycia couldn't help but wonder, yet again, why she gave up her cloak. She should've just used her shirt. After all, the cloak was good at not absorbing water, which was quite useful for rain. But she didn't have her cloak and it looked like it could start raining any second.

She glanced behind her, partially to look at Miersck and partially because she got an unsettling feeling that something was there. Her view of Miersck covered the strange creature in the road, however, so Alycia just started talking. "If I get a tail, you're going to have to carry me. I can cover myself in illusion, but I still won't be able to walk. I'll cover story wise." It wouldn't be unlikely if an eight year old brat refused to be let down by her... father? Miersck didn't really look fatherly, but if she had to play that card, she would.

More rain started to fall—not enough for her to transform just yet—but enough for her to know they wouldn't make it to the town. She could already feel scales just starting to form in patches on her legs. She started running faster.

Miersck paled at her words. "Wh-what!?" Miersck stumbled to a halt, his mouth gaping open. But he shook it off with some mild irritation, but that came from the on set of the rain. "Wh-what do you mean if you get a tail!? YOu mean to tell me the rain can transform you!?"
And it was then a loud boom of thunder was heard, a bright flash of lightning nearly blinding him and as he turned to look up at the skies, his eyes caught sight of the being on the road, and he froze, scared stiff, red eyes widening as his jaw slacked open.

"G-great rotten acorns! What the heck is that thing!?"

Alycia almost slipped and fell when Miersck suddenly stopped. What did he expect to happen if rain made her legs wet? That they'd just stay legs? She was just about to answer his pointless questions when the lightening made its way across the sky and Miersck spoke again. Sensing the fear in his voice, Alycia turned around very slowly. But when she saw the strange creature, she let out her high-pitched dolphin like squeal and hid behind Miersck.

Alycia—the most easily embarrassed girl who had already experienced minor trauma from kissing her moth fae crush—went behind this same moth fae, grabbed both his shoulders, pulled him close to her, and placed her head besides his in fear. She had never seen a creature like the one before them. Her arms and legs were quivering and she couldn't think straight enough to even grab her dagger. If she had seen the creature in any other situation, she probably would have acted much more logically. But with the big storm coming and the recent exiting of the ominous forest, she was already high-strung enough.

The beast nodded its narrow head a few times, stepping forward with steadily increasing speed. Before long it was dashing toward the two despite their obvious displays of terror; the thing was frighteningly quick, the hooves of its hind legs thumping against the dirt loudly and kicking dust into the air.

It was otherwise quiet in its quick approach and, should the two not gain their senses enough to stop running, the creature would skid to a halt right in front of them, stretching its neck down so that it might start sniffing at them almost immediately.

Miersck had no sense in that moment alright, and it wasn't until the beast was nearly upon them that he let out a scream. Whirling around, he snatched onto Alycia and moved to fly, the illusionary spell breaking in the moment as he let out a grunt of pain. He had gotten about three beats in with his wings when he realized how useless they were as he and Alycia crumpled into a pile upon the muddying dirt. Gritting his teeth, he wrapped his arms awkwardly around Alycia, keeping her in his lap as he growled over at the beast.

"Be gone with you!" he said, baring his teeth. And when more lightining flashed, it lit up the beast, making it appear even more ominous and dreadful. And Miersck was breathing heavy, half of his body inadvertently protecting Alycia from the rain, but the rains were beginning to let loose, and grew heavier and heavier as they fell.

He shifted his arms around her.
"J-just stay back! Or I'll.. I'll.." he had no idea what he'd do. He had not a weapon on him and not a single ounce of magic that could...
but then his eyes widened with an idea and he gripped onto Alycia and said, "Hey, don't utter a sound," and closed his eyes momentarily to concentrate, and soon the pair would disappear completely from the monster's view...
Except if he smelled they'd still be there, or if he walked beside or around them, he'd be able to see them. But Miersck hoped the creature would be taken off guard that it would leave them alone. ANd he held onto Alycia fiercely, rain waters rivering down from his hair as he felt his heart hammering within his chest.

Gods what rotten luck he had this day!

Alycia just gripped Miersck's shoulders tighter and tighter until he turned around and tried to fly. They barely got anywhere before she was in his lap, shaking more. The beast kept coming closer and the lightening only helped show its frightening features. If it wasn't for the heavy downpour of rain, she might have screamed. But instead the rain served to call her down and she sat up. After all, she belonged with the water.

She sat up, getting off of Miersck's lap. It was at this time she remembered that she had a dagger. Her bag had somehow stayed strapped around her through all the drama, so she pulled it off and set it on her lap. She quickly pulled her dagger out, and reevaluated the situation. There was a strange beast coming towards them and she was turning into a mermaid. If she had believed in such things, Alycia would have sworn.

But instead, she decided her tail was of more importance than the beast. After all, she didn't know what the beast was planning on doing but she did know what would happen if her now mostly scaled legs decided to merge. It had happened once before, and it was painful. The pants would serve to keep her legs apart until everything else had transformed (meaning she had scales and fins). But then her legs would expand inwards, trying to break free from her pants. It would work eventually, but it wasn't pleasant.

Miesck told her to be silent, so she would do her best. But she also knew she had to get off her pants—immediately. Glancing down, Alycia carefully removed her shoes so that her feet could finish transforming. She then went ahead and cut along the inside areas of her pants, following it with a cut upwards towards her bellybutton. In other words, she cut off her pants.

Alycia knew that her scales had basically formed their own pair of pants, meaning that none of her... lady parts... would be exposed. It was raining with unrelenting force so as soon as she had cut off her pants, her legs morphed together. Alycia was just about to sigh when she remembered what Miersck said, so she kept her mouth closed and just gazed at him with a slightly helpless look in her eye, hoping whatever plan he had would work.

It was unfortunate that this monstrosity's sense of smell was very good. It continued to sniff at the air, ears pulling back as it smelled them. The beast stared down at the 'empty space' and sat back, seeming to be waiting for them patiently. It even reached forward with one bleak hand to smack at the hidden duo. It was rough enough to hurt but not so much to scratch and wouldn't be able to do much damage.

Miersck's eyes lit up the moment the beast reached forward towards them. He had his breath held, but the moment it touched, smacking it's paw at his chest,he let out a noise. Then his eyes widened even further. Rotten acorns! Would it know they were there!?
He took a few quick hesitant steps backwards, focusing all of his will to keep them well hidden from the beast- but how long could he fool it? Or keep it perplexed? And the rains were pouring hard, and it was only then he realized, with a quick peak over his shoulder, Alycia had transformed!

The beast's ears perked very slightly to the sound of Miersck's panic and it stood again, following along without skipping a beat while sniffing at the air. It did not stop when he did, however, and steadily reached forward to try and place each huge paw on a shoulder. Hopefully this would not succeed but if it did the monstrosity would tilt him towards it and open its mouth casually.

Should things be uninterrupted at that point Miersck would be in for a disgusting surprise; as it would try to place his head in its mouth but not actually try to harm either of them, using its tongue to feel for the invisible fellow.

((They should be afraid. Yes.))

Alycia watched in horror as the beast hit Miersck. But it was clear the beast didn't mean to injure him... it seemed more like it was playing. If only it was some kind of sea creature—then she could talk to it. As Miersck backed up, Alycia dragged her self back with him, but her mind was still on communicating. It seemed as if he was just a whole bunch of animals jumbled together—who's to say that a sea creature wasn't one of them? Even if it was a long shot, Alycia figured it was the best option they had. And if it didn't work... well, she still had a dagger.

She watched as the creature lifted its huge paw and decided it was better to act soon. After all, she didn't know what it was planning to do to Miersck if it reached him. And given its accuracy in finding them so far, she had no doubt that it would find them eventually. She also could tell that the illusion was taking a lot out of Miersck.

So Alycia started talking... or what counted as talking in terms of marine animals. Although she had learned that some species spoke their own special tongue, most of them inherently understood a common tongue as well. So that's what she spoke in. The sounds she made were outside a normal human's hearing range but they resembled a series of clicks and whistles, similar to a dolphin. In the end, what she said simply translated to "What do you want?"

The moment the huge paw was placed upon his shoulder, all internal alarms were warning Miersck to flee. And his muscled tensed, as did his wings, as he was just about to tear away from the damn thing and scoop Alycia up and run away...

Though this never happened as a hot and sticky tongue from the creature reached out and began to lap all around his face..
though what frightened Miersck the most was the fact his head was almost all the way inside this creatures mouth!
So when the fear faded away, panic set in as Miersck dropped down to his knees quickly with a shout, then he turned away and scooped up Alycia and took off running, completely ignoring the fact she had been trying to speak...


Gods.. Gods.. Gods.. That thing had just tried to eat them!!!!!!!!!
And it was that one fact that kept Miersck running for dear life, having long since abandonned his illusionary spell for the moment, so the creature would be able to see the moth fae running off with a mermaid in hand.

Perhaps luckily for the fae was the fact that he was able to evade the creature's gripping paws long enough to grab the mermaid and start bolting. However the creature was still incredibly quick, easily able to keep up with the duo.

If it was difficult to commune with a creature not of the sea it was a true challenge to reach this walking menagerie but one strand of beast felt more familiar than the others. There was some form of crocodile woven into the thing's makeup and so it was able to just barely make out the words.

The strand only replied, "We hunger, but for all of us there is only one mouth to chew with... We play."

The beast itself seemed almost oblivious to the communication, sprinting around them and snapping at the two without ever actually touching them.

Gods, Gods, Gods!
They were going to die and Miersck wasn't quite ready for something that terrifying and permanent. So at the first snapping of it's jaw, Miersck let out a yelp and nearly dropped Alycia, but tightened his hold as the creature continued to snap it's jaws hungrily at them.

Great rotting acorns! The thing was right behind them and it seemed as if they had NO means to escape.  Miersck did all he could do, racing towards the town desperately while slipping over mud puddles from the pouring rain along the way. It was only through his whines of frustration that he realized they were close enough to one building just at the edge of town. It was low, only about two stories in height, but was something he had to try to get to... drowned wings or not. He had to try to fly.

Gritting his teeth, he let out a frustrated growl and took off, racing even faster than before before pushing up off of the ground as his wings snapped open, and the two took to flight, but not before his wings' gave way under too much strain from the weight of the water soaked into their delicate frame. Miersck let out a yelp of pain as he crashed into the side of the roof top.
He had let Alycia go at this point, but found himself slipping as he let out a gasp, and soon the mouth fae was dangling off the side of the roof, his red eyes wide in fear as he felt his hands lose their grip upon the wet shingles, and soon he was plummeting to the ground below.

Alycia's eyes widened as the creature put Mierck's head in his mouth. "Miersck!" she screamed, though she doubted he could hear her. All the same, he managed his way out and picked her up, running. She felt so weak, just making Miersck's life harder.

Then she heard the beast talk. And Alycia didn't know what it meant. It was hungry, but it was playing. So was it going to just play with them, or was it going to eat them in the end? But if it was a game it wanted... she could work with that. Or so she thought.

Alycia just kept getting views of the ground, occasionally getting mud splattered on her face. Then Miersck started flying and she suddenly felt herself drop onto a hard rooftop. As she propped herself upwards, however, she saw Miersck barely hanging on the side of the roof. She was going to propel herself to go grab him, but he started to fall just as she started moving. Not knowing what else to do, Alycia pushed herself off of the roof with him. She knew his wings didn't work and it was the best thing she could think of under pressure.

Catching him mid-air, Alycia pulled him close to her like he did to her when they jumped off the cliff. It even had the same slow motion feeling to it. But this time, she was saving him. She had no plan for the landing, but kept urging the rain water to go beneath her. Controlling water was still a new thing to her, and she wasn't even sure if rain water would work for this task. But there was no harm trying when she had nothing else to do. There was one more thing she did while they were falling, however. As graceful as mermaids always were, Alycia pulled the hair off of Miersck's forehead and planted a gental kiss on it. Then they hit the ground. She had protected him from most the damage. And whether it was her asking the water to move or just pure luck, she had managed to land in a fairly deep mud pile. There were cuts up and down her upper body, and some of her scales seemed dented. Alycia was also unconscious from the impact.

Miersck sat there on the ground. He wasn't entirely sure how he came about it so unscathed, but that didn't stop him from becoming shocked not only from the kiss to his forehead, but the fact the mermaid just launched herself clean at him in some heroic, height defying tactic that well..
left the poor moth fae stunned.

Sitting there, still wide eyed and in shock, he finally looked down at Alycia's crumpled form just as she began to wilt away into the unconscious. And it was only then he recalled the entire REASON they had gotten into this predicament as he shuffled her weight within his arms, red eyes going wide as he glanced over at the creature, too stunned to do much else as the rain water sent rivers of water down from his hair that began to snake down his nose and face.

The creature grew quiet and tentatively leaned forward to inspect the unconscious mermaid. Seeing as the fae was stunned, it didn't seem as though the beast would have much of a problem doing so. The unfortunate circumstance of the rain revealing her true nature saved them from a fate much more gruesome than being stuck in it, however. The monster didn't seem interested in eating either of them.

Instead, it grabbed at the two of them and, assuming the boy didn't flee, pulled them towards its still moderately dry stomach. It was giving them an unorthodox hug, moving to stand over them (perhaps as a means of shielding them from the downpour further. Although it was questionable whether it would have the patience to stand there idly in the rain with strangers until she woke it might not seem all that easy to talk things over with an unknown creature such as this.

Great Spirits of the Forest.... They were going to die.
That's pretty much the only thought going through Miersck's head whent he thing approached them, and he, being too stunned to move, found himself in a most awkward position indeed FOr now his face was pressed into the furry body of the large creature, and unbeknowest to him, was shielding both him and Alycia from the pouring rain.

But his heart was beating so fast, it was heard well into his ears, and he was pretty sure if his chest had been ripped open, his heart would have beat clean out of his chest. And his breathing was shallow,a nd quick, his eyes still wide as his entire body tensed..
and he flinched, as if bracing himself to be devoured...

Yet nothing happened.
And all that could be heard was the steady breathing of the creature, and the fall of rain.

"Great rotting acorns.." he muttered underneath his breath. "What do I do now?" His grip on Alycia was hurting his arms (as she was not as light as one would think), and he had a HUGE formidable creature clinging on top of him...

Gods... was he going to die!?

SO he did the only thing he could think of.. noble or not, and found himself pushing away from the creature with a frantic grunt. And slipped out intot he mud, he made to run away, but paused and stumbled into a halt after taking a few splashing steps into the puddled, muddy road before slowly turning around. he was panting as he studied the creature with uncertainty, and his arms ached like no other. But somehow..
the creature now seemed less threatening, and the fae grit his teeth and looked the thing over before attempting to ask, "What do you want from us?"
But it seemed the only answer he might get was the continual torrential down pour of the rain.

The beast was notably humbled by the mermaid's sudden unconsciousness, somehow registering that as a bad thing. It did not respond but approached the moth again as the rain pressed its fur into a slick, heavy coat. Green eyes glinted despite the clouds as it closed the gap, a large and especially fluffy tail swishing slowly back and forth behind it.

Miersck grit his teeth,a nd tried to steel himself, to remain brave, but he was shaking. This thing was formidable, and as he looked back at the creature, he was still catching his breath, his lungs burning from the strain.

"Can you not speak?" he asked after a time, his voice cracking. Then he grew angry, his brows furrowing as they continued to become slick with rain. "Well, I'm not afraid of you! Just try something!" he challenged, his wings bristling, and despite himself, the threat was empty, and he prayed internally the creature would not act upon it as his own red eyes glittered in desperation.

The beast continued to approach, closing the gap between them and staring down at him. After a moment it rumbled with what could be exasperation and opened  its mouth- revealing again the series of fangs as it began to speak.

"... I... can. You... hide... from whom? Is it... the humans...? You are... no fun."

The thing sat down again, drawing the drenched tail around itself.

Miesck was taken back by the creatures words. It wasn't that he hadn't dealt with terrifying, talking creatures before (For he had grown up in the ancient forests, so many different sorts of creatures were born and lived there); but in this place, in La'marri, he was out of his element, and furrowed his brows as if offended by what was asked.

Miersck loooked the creature over, making a face.
"Humans are greedy, disgusting creatures. Why wouldn't we try to hide from them? And you're posing yourself as no different. And what are you talking about on fun?" he eyed over the creature again. "Are you telling me you came out here to play?" he asked, exasperatedly as he attempted to catch his breath. "In the rain!?" and his voice raised at the last question, himself, visibly bristling.

He hated the rain! Why would ANYONE (or anything ..) wish to play in the rain!? And ugh, his wings were so sore, stick and wet. They felt like lead on his back and made his shoulders sore from the strain.

The beast drew its head back slightly once the moth boy made the comparison between them. Its dog like ears drew back and the creature growled. Despite only lingering for seconds the chimera was on its feet again, turning away from the moth once he finished speaking. "...Very well, then..."

"...I had a place... where you could... hide, but... I suppose I'm... just too greedy..."

Mierck adjusted the weight of Alycia within his arms.
"Wait.. what!?" He blinked, his red eyes going wide in disbelief. "What do you mean? YOu have some place we can hide and be safe?" He wasn't sure if he ought to believe this creature, but he seemed a lot less harmless now than some of the humans he had heard about and feared more from stories than any direct contact. Humans were wicked creatures, after all...

"Where is this place? Can you show me?" And he couldn't believe he was asking the creature for help! Better the creature than some rotten, acorn brained human...

"I will be... going there... but it is a... den of selfishness..." Despite its dismissive response the creature was walking at a modest pace; perhaps it was still counting on Miersck to follow him. "Truly... not safe for... the likes of selfless... people such as... you."

Miersck's face contorted again at the creature's words, and he found himself having trouble keeping Alycia in his arms. They were sore.

"What?" he grow irritated, bristling even as he narrowed his gaze at the thing. "What do you mean? Are you or are you not going to help us?" he shuffled Aylcia within his arms again, shaking his head. "I don't have time to be fooled, creature. Someone might see us and we have to hide away." ANd he glanced around as the rains continued to fall, feeling himself become more and more anxious, even though not a soul was in sight.

Without pausing in his walk the chimera let a deep, rough noise. Was that a laugh? It turned its head to peer back at them. "You need not... worry. Should we be... seen, I must... deal with them personally... Come. We are... not far."

It left the road and stepped out toward the highlands, completely confident of the fact that nothing would cross them.

For a good long while, Miersck stared at the back side of the creature. Then it shifted Alycia's weight within his arms, only then peering down to look at her. He frowned, staring down at her body, now slicked with rain and also, now legless (though the legs had turned into a pretty colored tail.) He hadn't gotten a chance to really look at it, and the way the scales glistened, even in a cloudy day, was fascinated. He then began to peer up at the rest of her, down at her sleeping face and the way she looked so... peaceful, but also... so tired, almost in pain. His frown deepened. She was like this because of him, and he felt pretty worthless in that moment. Drawing in a breath, he looked over at the animal and began to follow.

"Hey.. where are we going anyways!?" It better not be a trap. If it was a trap..well, what could he do? For now, he figured on trusting the creature. If anything, it was big enough to just eat the pair of them if it wanted to- so he tried to trust his gut instinct that it would not, but still... internally he prayed that his brains hadn't turned into acorn-crumbs because well, he wasn't sure what he'd be able to do if it lured them somewhere to gobble them up.

The creature did not respond immediately. Just as Miersck finished asking the beast seemed to... step into the ground. There was another illusion spell there, apparently, which fell away seconds after it vanished. Something not unlike a giant rabbit hole was revealed, steep but lit from within by a warm light.

Miersck's face contorted into all sorts of series of shapes as he was juggling Alycia's weight and staring after and attempting to follow the disappearing form of the creature before them. But when the thing seemed to simply 'step' inside the ground, he was taken back, then released a breath at the sight of the creature's own illusionary magics.

"Broken acorn patches.." he whispered. Then closed his lips, swallowed back the knot that had been forming before following the beast inside.

The hidden den itself was large but not particularly filthy. As a matter of fact, it looked as though they had just walked into someone's home. There were sections of floor which were different types of wood and four different 'rooms' in total. A kitchen with a small counter (which hid a whole variety of alcohol), a study with only a limited collection of books, a commoner's bedroom and a vacant corner littered with small toys.

The monster from before was not present. Instead a man sat at the counter (which was the nearest section to the entrance) and sipped from a mug of ale contentedly. He was skinny and short, wearing a worn black jerkin and hat with baggy, tawny clothes underneath. The fellow seemed perfectly at home, shoe less with the hat tipped over one of his eyes; he wore a lopsided grin, the expression somehow emphasizing just how big his nose was.

Smoothly, he greeted them, waving the mug in the air. "Welcome to my humble abode! It's been a while since I've had guests." The lad spun around on his stool, slamming down the mug before  getting off the seat and making his way back to the entrance. "Let's just close this, don't want the rain flooding the place..."

With the comfort one might feel around close friends the stranger moved to walk past Miersck and pull otherwise hard to see cellar doors behind them. "You're free to put her down wherever you like, I apologize for not preparing something for others sooner..." his voice wavered with a chuckle as he said 'apologize'.

The second Miersck was stepping inside what he presumed would be some sort of animal den, he paused and stared, his mouth dropping open as he looked around at this man's home. ANd had to do a double take when he noticed the man sitting there, drinking his ale in nonchalance as if it were common place. ANd despite all of the hospitality and warm vibes from this place, Miersck couldn't help but stutter out in an accusing, red-faced tone, "B-b-but... You're HUMAN!"
and his face twisted in pure dismay and almost disgust.

The doors were shut and he turned around, frowning slightly. "No I'm not." he replied almost immediately, humming for a few seconds afterwards before speaking again. "Well, I mean, I used to be. Then uh... things." The man began walking back toward the counter, scratching an unkempt beard. "I suppose I am, at my core, human, but you have no reason to fear or loathe me. I am not exactly... welcome among my peers."

The 'chimera' made it to the seat, pushing himself upon it again before spinning it around to face them. "I mean, if you want to hate me because of what I am, you're free to. Everyone else does that, too, shouldn't be too different from the norm..."

"...I just stumbled upon you two out of nowhere, it seemed as though you were about to make a terrible mistake, going into town like that. Did you know that there is, in fact, a powerful wizard residing there? He would have seen right through you two, I'm afraid. Besides, it looked as though you needed some help, anyway!" The grown man lifted both arms into the air, grinning broadly.

"That and I've never truly seen a mermaid before! How exciting! Hopefully she wakes up soon, I have many questions!"

Alycia, still unconscious, was having surprisingly nice dreams. She had been the whole time. Perhaps it was because she was being held by Miersck (though she didn't know this fact). First she dreamt about fish, then about the little girl that she could make herself look like, and then about that strange dagger of hers.

An uncomfortable feeling spread across her tail, which Alycia subconsciously felt. Groaning in her sleep, she shuffled around a little bit. Her tail was slowly starting to dry off.

Ooc: oops. I misread beasties post and will have to fix this post when I get home.
ANd sorry it took so long to fix D:
Been busy/ less motivated than usual x.x

----------

Miersck just stared at the man, not completely certain how he was supposed to register all of this. Gritting his teeth, he shuffled Alycia's weight within his arms, seeming not to notice she was beginning to lose her tail now that she was in a dryer location.

"Yeah well.." he shifted so that he held Alycia away from the stranger, his red eyes narrowing upon him. "I don't trust so easily. Just keep your eyes off of her and if she awakens soon and wants to speak with you, that's her call. But since she's passed out, don't even think about touching her or I'll-"  Or he'd what? Miersck was pretty useless as far as anyone was concerned with 'fighting'- but he still felt the need to protect the red-haired mermaid in his arms. "Or I'll make you regret it."

Yeah, like rotting acorns he would! ANd his heart was still hammering inside his chest. He still had no idea what to make of the 'human' nor his 'curiosity' to help the pair, so he shifted uncomfortably, feeling himself itchy all over and anxious. Curse the spirits, this just wasn't his week!

"And what do you mean there's a wizard in town?" Miersck visibly bristled. "And what would he want with us? And you- did you work for him or something!? How do you know about him!?" he accused irrationally, because well, he knew not what else to do as he backed up against hte wall, unwillingly crushing his wings as he did so, but kept Aylcia close and tight.

The man folded one leg over the other, placing his free hand on the uppermost knee while sipping from his mug with the other. The moth's mistrust did not seem to faze him in the slightest. Once his guest was done speaking and had established huddling against the wall the host simply smiled. "Seeing as this place is my usual hunting ground, I figured it'd be good to keep an eye on the locals. I know there is a wizard there because he is the loudest person in town and when he saw me he recognized what I was immediately. So, tell me, friend; if a mage of his ilk was able to see past my spells... how well do you think he would do seeing past your's? And her's, for that matter."

He put the mug down, running his hand through unkempt whiskers. The chimera's eyes did not leave the two. "If you don't believe me, truly, you're always free to go. Who knows, he might even be out looking, still! You could ask him for directions!"

With a yawn, Alycia slowly woke up. Where am I she wondered, still drowsy. Her hand on her tail, she realized her scales were starting to morph back into skin. That woke her up a little more. Then, all of a sudden, memories of what happened before she feel unconscious flooded into her head.

Opening her eyes wide, Alycia immediately sat up. Or tried to sit up. Instead, her forehead banged into the side of Miersck's head before she fell back down onto his right arm, squealing her dolphin pitched squeal. Her eyes got even wider as she felt her handsome carrier lose his balance.

Miersck bristled at the man's words.
"As if I'd go back up there to look for more trouble!" he spat. His wings tensed, his muscles tensed, when suddenly Alycia's head came flying up and bashed into his nose.
"URGH!" he was seeing stars, and probably had a hefty nose bleed by now before he suddenly toppled over, losing his balance in the awkward moment and came CRUSHING ontop of Alycia as he landed face first, onto hers. ANd to make matters worse, their lips PAINFULLY smashed together, giving the pair the most painful, second accidental kiss ever.

And it was only in that moment did he groan out in pain, before moaning and feeling his lips kiss back against her's out of some bizarre, twisted instinct. And it was then his eyes snapped open as he jerked away with a gasp, realizing his nose was bleeding everwhere. Blood was gushing down his face, down his lips, onto HER lips, onto HER face.

Miersck's face went as red as a cherry as he scrambled away and went flailing across the ground, cupping his nose.
"Broken acorn bits! That hurt!"

Alycia only felt a moment of pain from all of Miersck's weight on her before she was completely and totally distracted by the fact that his lips were on hers. Sure, the kiss was painful, but she would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy it in some kind of weird way. Her face started redden when she thought this and became even redder when he actually moaned and pushed his lip into hers more. (Little did she know, the moaning was from the pain... or was it?). But after a second of pausing, Alycia spread her lips a little apart and kissed him back.

Oddly enough, it was more of a kiss than their last one.

But then he jerked away. A frown spread across Alycia's blood covered face (which she currently didn't care about) as he scrambled far away from her. Did he not want her to kiss him? Her face now beet red, she thought, What in the world did I just do?! Now he probably hates me.

The pain finally catching back up to her, Alycia grunted as she sat back up and lowered her gaze to her sore tail. Feeling blood in her mouth, she decided that either her lip was bleeding or his blood was dripping into her mouth. She wiped her lips with the back of her hand, smearing the blood.

Looking up but not wanting to make eye contact with Miersck, Alycia looked to the right. And saw she was in a house. With a person. Who had probably just witnessed the entire thing. Her face somehow becoming even more red, she immediately lowered her gaze to her tail again. Which, she was finally remembering, wasn't going to be a tail much longer. The sides of her tail were already mostly skin, though luckily the tail hadn't started to split yet.

With widened eyes, Alycia glanced up and shyly asked, "Umm... I don't suppose you have a blanket and some pants?"

This is way too awkward, was all Alycia could think while attempting to wipe the blood off of her face.

Miersck's heart was beating a million miles a minute, and when Alycia finally talked, it broke him from his spell. His eyes went down to her disappearing tail as he only then, realized what was going on....
And before he knew it, he scrambled across the floor, leaped overtop of her and placed himself between her and the stranger as he remained on one bended knee, arms stretching out. Glaring back at the 'human', he bared his teeth.
"Go get her something now! Can't you see her tail is disappearing!?" he shouted irrationally, remaining protectively infront of her, even as blood was still gushing out from his nose.

OOC: loooooool
he probably thinks they're loony!

As the chaos unfolded between the two the human reached to pour more of his ale into the mug, watching for a few seconds while they both turned their attention to him. After a few seconds of simply staring the man took a swig from his drink, slamming it on the counter behind him before hopping off of his stool. "Why yes, milord! of course! Right away!"

He turned away and walked further into the den, humming a tune to himself while sorting through some pile behind the bed. "Nope... no... Well, alright then."

The chimera returned to the duo holding up a baggy green shirt. "This is the only clean thing left. I forgot to wash my clothes before the storm." It seemed as though it'd be slightly too big for the man, let alone the mermaid.

"Would you like some filthy pants, still? Filthy, filthy pants worn by the hairy guy who lives in a basement?"

((He actually is wondering if this is normal. Yay isolation!))

Alycia let out an awkward laugh as Miersck leaned over her, trying to hide her from the strange man. She was right when she decided he was actually a sweetheart the day before. But honestly, she was more worried about Miersck seeing her tailless than the man. Plus, he was getting more blood on her white corset. Well, it was the thought that counted.

"That fine!" Alycia quickly replied to the man. Anything was better than nothing. If nothing else, she could cover up at least most of her legs until she found something better. Glancing down, she noticed her feet were forming and her legs were starting to morph apart.

Her face almost as red as the blood that was smeared on it, she added, "Just be quick, please. I'm afraid my tail dries fairly fast." Thank goodness they weren't in the sun—it would have been long dried by now.

"Yeah! Just hurry up why don't ya!? Can't you see that she needs help over here!?" and as Miersck was shouting angrily, hands balled into fists, he turned around to point out Alycia's poor predicament when his eyes fell upon the tail as it began to dissolve away, legs starting to show and...
he found himself staring, and staring..
probably fueling the blood that was already trailing down his face.

OOC: loool so much fail

"What?! I can't hear you!" The stranger replied; clearly teasing poor Miersck. As the moth got an eye full the man stepped around him and carefully offered her the shirt, sure to avert his gaze. "I am afraid I'm a bit lacking in cloth, my liege. You may use anything you find in the kitchen but make sure its not used first."

Alycia sighed as Miersck bossed the man around. Sure, time was precious at this time, but it was a random kind stranger just helping them out. And he wasn't even being slow.

She noticed his gaze rest on her transforming tail and her face became bright red. Even if nothing was showing... well... it was just embarrassing anyway! Alycia was just about to cough to get his attention when the man handed her the shirt.

She quickly laid it on top of her legs, making sure to cover her not-yet-formed lady parts. It was at this time that Alycia realized she could just cover herself in illusion. But even though she could make herself look like somebody who was wearing pants, the image wouldn't be solid. It still wouldn't feel like she was wearing pants. And at this point, she decided it wasn't worth the energy.

Miersck's face burned redder than a thousand suns, and it wasn't until the shirt was presented did he finally look away. His mind in a whirl, his blood broiling hot, he found himself doing the only thing he could think of and turned to the 'human' teasing them and shouted angrily, "Don't mock me!" he spat, his wings tensing upon his back.

"And she just got help now so just leave us alone, alright!?"

It was an unreasonable request, considering this man was helping them, but Miersck's pride was severely wounded, his mind in shock from... well... well...
GODS, DID HE REALLY KISS HER AGAIN!?

His mind was reeling over it, heart beating so fast, he had NO idea what to do with himself as he growled, bared his teeth and just stood there about ready to explode as his hands, now balled into fists, shook violently from where he stood.

The stranger smiled simply, shutting his eyes and commenting, "Well, if I knew you guys were gonna be like this I might've just let you have the place to yourselves. To clear up that tension, you know?" Once again he returned to the counter, sitting down and continuing to intoxicate him while peering at the two.

Something told him he was going to need more alcohol.

Miersck's face went redder at the comment, and found himself only able to stare, and before the moth fae knew it, he was storming clean out of the under ground home.

OOC: lol

"Um... Miersck..." Alycia started, still blushing from the man's comment. She was starting to wonder if he acted this grumpy around everybody knew he met. Before, she thought it was just around her because she was a mermaid and he hated water. "It's raining," she finished.

He had probably realized this already, given the fact that he had exited the house. Hoping it would get him to return—if the fact that it was raining didn't—Alycia added, "And I still need pants..." Just saying that made her blush even more.

Miersck halted in his tracks at her voice, then at her words, he released a growl beneath his breath. His hands were now clenched into fists, his temper at an all time high, but somehow, he managed to swallow some of it down as he slowly stepped back into the house, avoiding eye contact from both of hte others for now.

"Look, we have no other choice than to take homage from you," Miersck began, feeling his lungs burn from the heat of his angered breath. "And I... I'm sorry I'm in a miserable state. I realize you're trying to help us, and I...." he grit his teeth. "I thank you."
Gods, that was so hard to say, and he felt almost defeated for saying it. He then glanced with uncertainty towards Alycia, his eyes meeting hers only breifly before he turned away, still gritting his teeth.

"Once the rain clears, we will be no more trouble for you," he said bitterly as he stared down at the floor.

It seemed as though the fellow was in a whole separate world. Miersck was at the end of his rope, swallowing his pride so that they might stay and the stranger treated it as though he were asking for a few coins. "Oh, of course! Don't worry about it. Take your time."

The man shot the two a lopsided grin. "Hope you aren't past wearing dirty peasant pants... eh. Worst case scenario you could just cover yourself with the shirt and be done with it."

Alycia watched Miersck with her big blue eyes as he turned around. And apologized. It was, she realized, eerily similar to when they had first met. She had saved him, he had gotten angry, he realized he was stuck with her, then he apologized. But then... then so much more happened. She started to like him more and more and he ended up starting to capture her heart (not to mention her lips).

These were the thoughts running through Alycia's head when Miersck briefly made eye contact with her, which, of course, made her blush. She quickly looked away from him and instead to the kind man who was letting them stay in their house.

After hearing what he said, Alycia responded, "Huh?!" Then she cleared her throat. "The peasant pants are completely fine. I'd much rather have those then just the shirt..." Her face heated up just imagining it. Her tail was now completely turned into legs, and the only thing covering them was a shirt. She felt so bare.

It was an awkward and tense moment as as Miersck stood near to the door. He could still hear the rains pounding outside. The sun couldn't come fast enough. Releasing a breath, he kept his tongue still and peered over at the stranger when Aylcia inquired about the pants, because well, it would be even more awkward to stare at Aylcia, who wasn't wearing nothing more than her top, and just some meager shirt draped across her lap.

The stranger smiled and dipped into a bow before crouching down and somehow flipping back over the counter. The hat fell off, landing almost miraculously on the table next to his mug. Meanwhile, the scruffy one went about the task of locating a pair of pants for the girl. There were a couple of small crashes followed by hushed 'oh well's that took place in the den; eventually he managed to find a pair and chose instead to run back around the counter in order to extend his findings to Alycia. "If its too smelly I can look for... slightly less smelly ones?"


"Name's Enth, by the way."

Alycia accepted the pants while saying, "No, thank you, these will be fine." While they might smell, she just wanted to get something on. And plus, she didn't want Enth to cause even more things to fall.

Feeling bad that she hadn't introduced herself yet to the man who saved her and Miersck, Alycia figured it was probably about time to do that. "Hi Enth, I'm Alycia," she said, figuring Miersck had already introduced himself. She would thank him once she was able to stand and bow, since that was the proper way.

Looking at Enth, and then embarrassingly at Miersck, she added, "If you two wouldn't mind... some privacy would be nice." She held up the pants to help them understand what she was implying. In case it wasn't already obvious.

At Alycia's request, Miersck shifted uneasily, then looked towards 'Enth' to see what he was going to do. He wasn't about to go traipsing through another man's home, so maybe Enth could lead the way. He was also too prickly and anxious in the moment, and hadn't thought to quite yet give his name as he drew in a careful breath and waited.

After carefully giving Alycia the pair of fur-covered pants Enth stepped aside and wound behind the counter simply to sit down and pat his knees. "Why hello Alycia! ...This is as private as it gets, I'm afraid."

The structure was whole enough so that his action alone ensured he wouldn't be able to see her change; it had to be uncomfortable hearing the stranger so close, however. He didn't seem to have any intention of sneaking a peek, sighing happily as he settled in and stray locks of hair fell wildly over his face.

"And what's your name, sunshine?" It was entirely possible that he was addressing Miersck as he might not know what calling someone 'sunshine' implied.

((sorry for the delay, this week and the next week are gonna be fun times with Bandito! I'll reply occasionally, still.))

Miersck stared... and stared and stared as the man simply sat down and behind the counter. And by the time he found his wits, his face was as red as his eyes.
"Er..."
His wings twitched, realizing, as he looked around feebly, that Enth was right.
So he moved to take a seat behind the counter, eyes avoiding everyone's gaze (especially Alyicia's) as he plopped down onto the ground near the older gentleman.
It was then Enth cracked a smart comment and Miersck shot his eyes his way, glaring daggers at the man as his wings stiffened on his back side- an action that really hurt. Damn, damp wings. Why wouldn't he have stronger fae wings? Birds had wings that didn't hve to worry about being wet.

Shaking the thought aside, he narrowed his gaze.
"My name's Miersck." and he didn't offer it too friendly, either.

While Alycia might get easily embarrassed, the fact there were two men barely being hidden in the same room as her while she was trying to change didn't really bother her. After all, she undressed out in the open (though middle of nowhere) all the time. Plus, Miersck had just been turned around last time she had to change. So this was an improvement.

Nonetheless, she wasn't planning on wasting time. She immediately put on the pants, staying seated. The fur bothered her a little, but at least it wasn't whale skin or something of the likes. And, though she hated to admit it, it was more comfortable than other pants she had bought before.

Glancing at the shirt that she had set beside her, Alycia decided to put that on as well. While it might not be the cleanest thing around, neither was her mud (and blood) covered corset. And it would cover more of her.

Once she had finished this, Alycia said, "I'm done. And... Miersck, shouldn't you be a little kinder to the person that saved out lives from that beast?" After all, she still didn't quite know what had happened. She was unsure whether or not she was overstepping his boundaries, but felt bad for Enth.

Miersck's face went red, and he immediately stiffened at Alycia's reprimand and he shrunk down from where he was already hidden behind the counter.
"Yeah, but.. he did try to eat us, first," he tried to protest, giving a partial glare Enth's way before stubbornly looking away.

"Eat us?" Alycia asked worriedly. Surely such a kind man wouldn't have saved them from a beast and then tried to eat them. But she trusted Miersck and doubted he was lying. Mistaken, however, was always a possibility. "Are you sure you weren't... I don't know... under a witch's spell or something?" How could one mistake the desire to eat in someone else?

Standing up, she asked, "Enth, you didn't try to eat us, right?" Her voice was confident but her thoughts were running wild. What if he was trying to eat them? But that seemed crazy. Then, she realized, they must be safe at the moment if Miersck was willing to be side to side with him behind that counter. So at least there was no immediate threat either way.

"Even if that wasn't his intent, he still had us fooled," he gestured haughtily towards Enth. "Since the man you're looking at who just offered you clothing was the very monster that we tried to run from but an hour ago!" And his wings were extra bristled at that remark.

To the glaring and discussion of who was trying to eat who, Enth only smiled. When the question was posed, the smile turned into a broad, wicked grin. He chuckled and peered over at Miersck, humming a note before responding. "I never had fae before. Or mermaid! Except that if I were to decide to eat you guys, I'd have asked you some questions first. You know, lifestyles and whatnot. When it comes to simple meat I have a decent idea of what fish and bugs taste like."

The beast in disguise licked his lips, staying silent for a few seconds before letting a guffaw.

Miersck's face fell, his mouth gaping open before he bared his teeth in a growl and stood defensively before Alycia.
"Well you're not eating either of us so easily! Just go ahead and try it, beastie!" and his red eyes glared back menacingly from where he stood before Alycia, his wings snapping out, body tensed and well guarded of his friend.

Clapping slowly, the stranger stood up once Miersck was in position to defend the mermaid. "You two are some truly star-crossed lovers, aren't you? Honestly, if I really wanted to eat you both, don't you think I'd have done so already?" He stepped away from them both, making sure to pick up his hat and mug on he way.

"Or-- well, tried to do so, in earnest... I was just playing with you two, really. If you don't believe me, keep in mind that dirty clothes do not make for good toppings." Enth spun back around to face them once he'd reached one of the walls of the den, leaning back against it and placing the hat back on his head.

While Alycia logically should have been more freaked out by the fact that Enth was the beast (she assumed Miersck wasn't mistaken due to Enth's lack of disagreement), her head was focused on the term 'star-crossed lovers'.

Her face slowly got redder and redder, as she kept repeating the words in her head. She managed to keep her mouth shut until Enth finished talking—it was the polite thing to do—but then she immediately mumbled, "We ar-aren't lo-lo-lovers..." Alycia looked at the ground embarrassed, her thoughts running wild.

We have kissed three times... if saving him from drowning counts... but that doesn't make us lovers... does it? Alycia thought. I mean, I definitely like him, but there's no way he likes me. Right? She raised her eyes slightly to look at Miersck before quickly lowering them again. Her face was beet red.

Miersck's face went bright red at the man's assumption.
"W what?!" He stammered, mouth agape. Shaking his head, he protested,"why would you think that?! Of course we're not lovers!" And his wings got extra bristled, especially as the memory of those 'kisses' beat inside his head like a drum over and over again.

"Even a blind toad would be able to see through those statements." The monster noted with amusement. "Would you like to tell me next that the sky is green? Or perhaps that the birds have scales?" He scratched at his chin, remaining in place while giving the duo a studious gaze.

Alycia was a little bit dismayed at Miersck's response. He seemed like he hated the idea of them being lovers. Of course, she denied it too, but not quite like that.

Running her fingers through her hair and barely meeting Enth's gaze, Alycia added, "We only met yesterday..." But a lot had happened since then. With a sigh, she kept messing with her hair. Since there was no hood to cover herself up with, it was the only other thing she could think of doing.

Miersck, not fully aware what he ought to do with himself, and not about to lose his top in here, simply turned around and stormed out.

.........


......................


....


Except he missed the exit completely in his 'blind rage' and smashed clean into the wall, crushing his nose. Cursing out a slew of indistinguishable words, he cupped a hand upon his nose which was bleeding profusely from his oh so smooth move.

Whirling around, he just let his anger fly out, not caring anymore what anyone thought about him  as his face became as red as his eyes.
"Just keep your thoughts to yourself! We only met yesterday! How can you think in this rotten acorn of a world that we'd be lovers!? She's a mermaid anyways and my kind hates water and if it weren't for my wings being plastered down like a sack of mud laden walnuts, I'd be out of here before you'd start making up other colors the sky could be! Now keep those opinions to yourself before I REALLY get angry!" and his wings were already bristling, he was breathing heavy, and his eyes were large and wild.


WHY DID HE HAVE TO GO AND SAY THAT!? ARRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!

OOC: SPICYYYYY YOU'RE KILLING MEEEEEEEE *runs off crying*
______________________

IC:

Alycia instinctively reached slightly forward when Miersck ran into the wall and she was almost about to go running over there to see if he was okay despite the previous awkwardness. His health mattered most, after all. But then he spun around and started yelling. At first shock passed through her body, clear in her wide eyes and slightly open face. Then a little bit of rage—did he really hate the idea that much? Was he that oblivious to her feelings? But then she realized that she had been naive to think that he might like her, and that she overestimated him. He had hated her all along and only stayed with her for food and because he was stuck with her.

Even still, something at the back of her mind was telling her she was wrong and that he really did like her. But she did her best to ignore that feeling. Better to feel the loss now—when they had only known each other for a day—than to keep her false hopes up for longer and fall even farther when she realized she was wrong.

She was determined not to cry or embarrass herself further, so Alycia merely took a deep breath, looked at Enth, and tried her best to calm her thoughts. But her thoughts were too frantic. She was somber and upset and was tempted to yell at him, but knew it wasn't his fault. It was hers, for believing in things that apparently weren't there. After another deep breath, Alycia turned her gaze to Miersck, looking him straight in the eyes. Despite the emotionless on her face, her melting pot of emotions were displayed perfectly through her wide almond eyes. She opened her mouth, as if she was about to say something, but then closed it without a single sound. She didn't trust herself to say anything. Nor did she think she'd be able to keep looking at Miersck, so she returned her eyes to the ground, where she didn't have to look in anybody's eyes.
______________________

OOC: *runs back in* DELIVERY FOR SPECIAL POSTIE. I'M PROUD OF THIS ONE. Hopefully it displays Alycia's emotions well enough. :3 God, Miersck better feel guilty... eventually, at least. He's breaking the heart of my favorite innocent character.  :'(

((Its always hard the first time. The first time their heart breaks, or the first time one of your main characters dies. I get all mopey thinking about how Enth died the first time in another story. But writing is writing, its supposed to do that. :D))

The stranger observed quietly, eyes growing wide as Miersck began yelling again. The left eye twitched while the other simply focused on the fae. After the pause and Alycia's attempt to speak he uttered quietly, "I... understand if the rain got into your ears, or if luck turns its back on you..."

The image of his face started to stretch, the tip of his nose darkening while normally black whiskers grew pale and stretched to the sides. "...And that I am not the most gracious of hosts, making due with only my den to shield you from the elements..."

His fingers elongated, nails growing wicked and sharp. "...But I have sensitive hearing. And I do not..." at this point the fellow's voice began to deepen, "...appreciate loud noises in my HOUSE." Enth grew back much of his fangs, tilting his head back as his neck began to catch up in the shifting. His whole body was trembling so he lowered his malformed head and placed those claws upon his snout, trying to turn back. The monster growled roughly, "MAKE YOUR DECISION, PLEASE. I NEED SOME QUIET TIME."

The lad shook more violently, dropping to a knee and hugging himself. "I'M SORRY, I SEEM TO BE HAVING A BIT OF TROUBLE..."

OOC: Miersck is such a selfish creature D: He'd rather protect himself before admitting anything that makes him uncomfortable or puts him in an awkward stance.
Such an unfortunate thing for Alycia ;o;
Also, he's so young... 'love' is still considered 'awkward' for a being such as he XD

------------

The look on Alycia's face broke his heart, and that was as clear as day on his face. But instead of saying or doing anything, he simply stared at her in a wordless, open mouthed gape. Rotten acorns..
he hadn't meant to hurt her feelings.

He felt himself become riled up again, about ready to tear Enth out again. Clearly it was this man's fault, and not his own for this predicament, and Mierscks's temper, always being irrational, was quick to come out and puff out anythign to keep his own self protected, be it truth or not, before rational thought would ever catch up.

It was only when Enth began to transform did Miersck snap out of his dramatics, his mouth dropping open for a second time as he stared in horror as the man changed, once again, into a beast...
or rather, was beginning to change, rage evident in the creature's eyes.

Miersck's mouth as was moving, but no words were coming out. The color was lost on his darkly tanned skin as he swore beneath his breath and whirled around, grabbing Alycia by the wrist and shouted, "Run! The monster is going to eat us!" and he had no idea as to where they might run, but with a flash, an illusion spell was cast in his frenzy as he dashed forward again, Alycia in tow and his hands fumbled against the walls, swearing along the way as he attempted to find any sort of means to escape.

Though his illusion spell hid both he and Alycia, it was evident where they were since Miersck was knocking just about everything off the wall in attempts to find the exit..
an exit of any kind.

Alycia glanced up at Enth as he started speaking, then back at the ground again. Then back at him. Is he... transforming?! Her eyes widened and she realized, now completely positive, that he was the monster from before. The real question was if his personality changed with his body... maybe he wasn't so bad after all. Then again, he did stick Miersck's head in his mouth.

She was caught off guard when he suddenly grabbed her wrist, even though she knew he was doing it out of fear. She was tempted to jerk her wrist out of his hand for the simple reason of not wanting him to touch her in any way, but knew that would be impolite. That being said, he was making a horrible escape. In fact, she didn't even know why he was trying to run under the current conditions. So now she did pull away her wrist, but for their own safety more than anything else.

"Miersck!" Alycia hissed quietly. "I don't think you're helping him. He said to be quiet, and now you're shouting and knocking everything over." She took a deep breath and looked at Enth again. It was clear that he was unstable, and she didn't want to do anything to anger him further. She tried to look at Miersck in the eyes, but instead settled on his nose. It was easier to ignore her feelings that way. "Plus, where would we really run? It's still raining."

Enth turned away from them, one arm still clinging to his midsection while the other stretched to reach something across the room. While it did so the appendage grew a short coat of brilliant white fur, grabbing something as it was falling and pulling it back. The limb shortened and became more humanoid once again and the stranger opened the object- a small pot containing a dark liquid- and proceeded to chug from it awkwardly.

The fluid dribbled down his tunic , making a small puddle on the ground. He gripped it with both hands and began returning to normal, setting the container aside and sliding down to sit on the floor. "Eheh..."

Despite most of him returning to normal the arm that he reached with trembled, its surface wavering in patterns not unlike the waves at a shoreline. The skin was reddened and looked raw. With a much calmer but melancholy stare, Enth inspected his limb quietly. The monster's breathing slowed drastically and those eyes became heavy.

"I'm... sorry, this always happens at the worst times. I'm not angry or anything..."

The voice of reason came as a quiet hiss from the girl behind him, and after she spoke, he paused a moment to consider her words, his damp wings bristling as he turned around quick as a knife, just in time to hear Enth speak.

He was backed against the wall, his wings knocking a few things over as the moth fae cringed. And with his heart beat drumming inside his ears, it was hard for him to focus, and to speak clearly since he was already panting from exertion and fear. Thankfully, at least for now, the moth fae had paused in the middle of his antics to reassess the changing beast of a man before them.

"Just what are you anyway? And do hungry and angry fall into the same category, because I'd really rather not become a meal tonight!"

Wearily trailing his hand down his face, the stranger hesitated before replying. "...I'm not sure." He stood up and inspected his clothing; the vest was fine but the shirt beneath was tattered by his changing. Still, Enth didn't seem to mind this, letting a small sigh in what seemed to be relief. "The closest thing you could call me is a man, because that's how it started. But I don't really want to talk about this; I realize this is an awful first impression to have!"

Though his eyes remained heavy, the monster grinned in a goofy manner and returned to the bar. He was quick about refilling his mug, humming something softly in small intervals between drinking. "I understand if you'd want to leave, the rain might not stay for much longer but... don't tell all the other faeries that I'm rotten, please. It'd be hard for me to make it up to them if something disrupted my chances at friendship..."

It seemed like only seconds before the mug was empty again. "Please, please, enough talking about me, or about your potential love life! You could talk about anything else, I'm not judgmental."

Miersck was starting to push her buttons. Forget the fact that he just basically said that he would never like her and that it was stupid for anybody to like her, but he was being incredibly rude to this obviously troubled stranger! But when Enth spoke, her anger was quickly replaced with somberness.

It was clear that this man-beast hybrid didn't want to talk about himself. But what he did say struck at her heart. Just the heaviness in his words told her how close this issue was to her heart. And in that moment, Alycia said something that she had only told a few people since she escaped.

"I was a slave," she spoke, slowly and quietly. Her voice was strained and even though she managed to look Enth straight in the eyes, the pain it cost her to say this wasn't hidden. "I was stolen from the beach when I was five. It's lucky the slave traders didn't know I was a mermaid... I'm thankful for that everyday." She took a deep breath and her voice started to stabilize a little. "Even still, I was a slave. They ordered me to do things, and I did it. I knew what happened to slaves that disobeyed. They got whipped or sold. And I didn't want to leave my family—I had two friends there. One was a daughter and one was the other slave. The latter betrayed me for almost nothing."

"I... got away last year and have been searching for my family ever since. They could be anywhere and it's risky to ask people for information. I learned the hard way not to trust people." Alycia paused, remembering both her false friend from before as well as the people who had talked to slave traders about the fact that she was a mermaid in hopes of getting money. "But I still try." Her eyes snuck their way over to Miersck, even though she willed them not to. "After all, it's the only think I remember my mom telling me. To trust people no matter what. But I wonder if she had to deal with the same problems. Believing in things that only exist in your own mind."

Miersck grew strangely quiet; and the mood in the air went grave, fast. His wings twitched not only once, but twice during Alycia's long speech, and a cold shiver had set in that he could feel to the bone. He was already feeling awkward over Enth's obvious struggle with who and what he was, and then for Alycia to bring up something on the same level....

He was no expert on how to deal with other's emotions. He had been so successful for so long bottling up his own and being ignorant that once his eyes began to clear up from his own fog, he sobered little by little as he let this cold reality settle in.

Though he knew not what to say, he had managed to catch Alycia's glance once it was stolen his way, if even briefly, and he turned away, down casting his gaze, and his wings as they dropped off his shoulders.
The moment was delicate, like glass, and despite himself and the vulnerable shift int he air, a set of surprisingly words came dryly off his tongue.
"I'm sorry."
And it was meant for all, even as his eyes avoided them.

(The feels on the bus go 'round and 'round!)

When Alycia started speaking Enth turned again to see her. His eyes grew a little wide but he listened to her, taking a small moment to think about her words. Then, Miersck spoke up and the stranger looked over at him briefly. After this, a small smile drew back on the monster's face. It wasn't joyful or mocking, his lips remaining closed with the expression until he replied.

"I never had someone open up to me before." his brow lifted. "This is a new experience. But I remember my brother saying things like that, too. It takes time to learn the answer to that question, y'know? A lot of people will be nice to a child even if they're cold to other adults. Give them good advice like that. But if your mother lived long, she probably faced a great many internal conflicts. Everyone does." The lad reached back for his mug idly but let it be, realizing it was already empty and he didn't want to get wasted while someone was confiding in him.

"I get this feeling we all have something terrible we've witnessed, and reasons not to trust folks. I couldn't say that I can point you in the right direction, cause I've never even seen a mermaid before. They're probably out at sea; but the sea's a big place." If Enth had a tail, it'd start wagging. Thank the gods he didn't.

Hopefully, he piped up, sounding like a child despite his low tenor. "If you want, we could search together. I mean-- I might not be around all the time, and if you don't want me to, I won't, but I think it'd be fun!"

When Miersck apologized, it reminded her of the night beforehand when they had been talking about similar things. Even if he could be a bit... harsh at times, she knew then that it was just to cover up his pain. But what pain could be covered up by saying what he had just said?

Her eyes darted back to Enth when he spoke. Unlike Miersck, Enth spoke the truth. He didn't hide his words with a mask. She nodded when he spoke about her mom. Of course her mom had faced conflicts. Everybody had. That's the only reason she could ignore when people were aggravating. Because they might have had something horrible happen to them just minutes beforehand, and she had no way of knowing. Remembering this calmed her down a little. There wasn't any use in staying sad or angry or regretful or anything. So she plastered a smile on her face and did her best to make it real.

However, she was so distracted in her own thoughts that she hadn't paid attention to anything Enth had said after mentioning her mom. But when she snapped back into focus, she could see the questioning and eager look on Enth's face. "I'm sorry," Alycia started, truly feeling bad that she had zoned out. "What did you ask?"

Instead of treating the situation as though she legitimately just didn't catch what he said the monster leaned back again, twiddling his thumbs in his lap while trying to keep himself calm. "I can help you. I-I mean, yes, I can. To find your way. Not by telling you where to go, but maybe coming along?"

The fearsome creature sounded more and more like an eager child with each word spoken.

Miersck was crawling inside his skin, itching to get over this conversation already, but it seemed the awkwardness was hanging heavily around him, like a thick fog he couldn't brush away. He looked nervously from one to the other, never letting his eyes settle as he stared down at the ground.

Yet here he was, feeling almost jealous, or rather, ashamed for it, that a monster the pair had just met today was offering to help Alycia; and that well, Alycia had shown any other part of herself, a deeper history, something more personal than just some 'simple' mermaid who had lost her way. He wasn't sure why he hadn't considered to think more deeply into her purpose here, or trie dto comprehend just why a mermaid would be on dry land of all places...

But then again, he was always so wrapped up inside himself... always stuck on what HE hadn't gotten, and the why.


She had parents, a family...
But who needed them anyways? They'd always leave you in the end, even when you begged them to stay. And why should you stay? Even after they had promised to return; that what they were doing was protecting the forests.... that they would be back for you and if not....

Fragments of his parents final 'Good bye' played inside his head over and over again, until even now, he couldn't recall if the voices he was recollecting were their voices, or just the way he wanted to remember them. And their face were already becoming cloudy, as if the memories of yesterday were becoming a fog. Or was that just the mists of his cloudy vision through tears that were forming? Or tears he was recalling from a time he tried to forget, but could not? A time that plagued him like a nightmare. A time when he had seen the horrors first hand, even when he had rushed into the heart of the forest like a fool, not wanting to believe his parents had died, wanting to find them, rescue them... or more realistically, just find them and they'd be ok.

He was no hero; and he was just a child, not much older than he was today.
And the things he had seen were so dark and twisted, and the Goddess; their Guardian of the Forest had actually spoken to him....
and even she was dying... having been tainted by what plagued the Ancient Forests...
And the darkness all around them- it had lashed out at him like a whip
And now....

.......

....................

........

A shiver brought him back to the present.
Unlike Alycia or the other, he wasn't comfortable speaking, or opening up. Opening up left you vulnerable, speaking out... being bold... protecting those you loved...
It got you killed.
It meant you would never return......

He rubbed at the burning skin at the base of his skull where it met at his neck and continued to remain quiet, staring at his feet.
And it had been growing late, and he had forgotten it was the night of a full moon; for he had a lot more to fret over than just the rain turning Alycia into a mermaid, or his wings soaking through, or event his 'monster' eating them.

And a painful itch upon his arm made him seeth suddenly and turn away from the others as he gripped onto it, cowering over it as if he had been burned. And it was only then he caught sight of the mark on his arm and cursed through his teeth about just more than rotting acorns as he scrambled to cover up the mark, even as it's wicked black hue was already snaking subtly beneath his flesh, darkening like veins within his fingers.

And he was trying not to draw attention to himself, but another shock of pain washed through him, making him loose his balance as he knocked some pot or another over as he groped at the wall. Clutching now at his stomach, he was doubled over.

"The.. the exit... how.. how do I get out?" he said, feeling himself becoming dizzy and feverish. "I... I'm going to be ill.. I... I need to get out."

Wait, thought Alycia. He wants to come?! That was unexpected. Should she let him? He seemed awfully eager to. But she had just met him. Then again, she had also just met Miersck. And Miersck had proven himself multiple times. This person hadn't. And she wasn't quite so sure if her fae friend would be so happy with the hybrid coming along. It seemed to her like they didn't quite fit together. Miersck's opinion still mattered to her, despite what had just happened. Plus, they had decided to work together in order to achieve both their goals. Her goal of finding her family and his goal of, well, getting away from his.

So without responding to Enth, she insecurely looked over towards Miersck. The second she laid eyes on him, Alycia knew something was wrong. He was clenching onto his arm. It was at this time that she remembered those marking she had found on him before. Were they what was causing him obvious pain?

Despite her initial instinct to run over to him and see if he needed help, Alycia just stood where she was. She knew enough about him to know that he would fend her off, saying that he was strong enough to handle it himself or whatever. And so she watched, praying that his pain would quickly go away.

Apparently her prayers didn't work.

Alycia quickly ran over to Miersck and wrapped her arm around his back for support. She cut her foot on a shard of the pot, but she didn't care. It was clear that he was in so much more pain than her. She led him towards the entrance, which was only about ten feet away. Even though she didn't think he'd be able to understand her with his current conditions, Alycia whispered into his ear as they walked.

"It'll be okay," she started, not quite sure what you were supposed to say to people that weren't feeling well. "I'll help you out. You'll be fine. Just power through it. We're getting closer. I know you're stronger than whatever this is. I believe in you. In us. In you. See, now we're right by the door. It's still raining, just so you know. Drizzling, at least. Once you're fine, you should buy me some skirts. Okay? Now you have something to stay strong for. I don't know why I don't have any skirts. Call me stupid. You can say it just like this: 'Rotten acorns, you are the stupidest mermaid girl I've ever met. Not owning any skirts even though you transform in the rotten rain and have to cut your pants open to make up for this rotten deficiency.' Do you like my impression of you? I suppose I was pretty far off. Ah, look, now we're in the rain. The rotten rain." She let out a sad laugh, knowing that he was not feeling well. It was ridiculously obvious. Because, as she had previously thought, he would have handled it himself if he had been able to.

The moth fae's movements caught the creature's attention easily. He didn't move closer to the lad but did assist in opening the door out. For the time, Enth let the subject of adventure drop; they all seemed to be in a bad place at the moment. Still, while they were moving out the fellow stroked at his beard (a nervous gesture for the isolated monster). "Just don't make too much noise while you're out and don't walk too far out to the plains."

He kept telling himself that it was fine if they departed because it likely would be. The beast just didn't desire to feel a twinge of disappointment once they did. So he followed them out and watched the horizon, not minding the rain at all while it fell and gathered along the brim of his hat- which was suddenly back on his head.

Odd.

His skin was crawling and his mind was racing as the muscles on his hand arm constricted. He let out a breath, then a noise when Alycia approached him, acting as a crutch and talking to him soothingly. He was panicked and at first, tried to shrug her away when a shiver of pain made him whimper out, his eyes shutting tightly.

Somehow he managed to get to his feet, his vision blurring,t he world spinning and a moment later, he was outside. He hadn't made it two feet when he collapsed suddenly, landing clean on his face. And it was then the pain began to subside.

Laying out there in the rain, face in a puddle and his wings now plastered againsthis back side, the moth was still as death. It took a few more moments for his eyes to flutter open, but the world still moved like a dreamy fog. He felt exhausted, and his arm felt almost useless as feeling began to return to it, little by little in sharp, little tingles of pain.

With his cheek in the mud, he breathed heavily through his open mouth and lay there for a good long moment, not sure what to make on what happened. This was the start of it.. this had happened before, but there were still many more hours before the sun was to set....

Listlessly, his red eyes went towards the sun. It was well past mid day, perhaps it was evening? It was hard to tell, but the sky was orange and seeming darker fromt he rain that continued to fall. Or was it evening? He couldn't even tell...
All he knew was that his symptoms were now getting worse as a few hot tears spilled down his face.

Then he thought he heard a voice- but she sounded so distant and far away...
Was that.. was that Alycia? His eyes groped around, seeking for an answer, something to ground him back into reality as strength began to return to him, enough that he could lift his head up and support his weight on his other, good, untainted arm.

Alycia knew she couldn't stay outside. Not for long, at least. But she couldn't bring herself to go back inside, not with Miersck in as much pain as he obviously was. After he had collapsed, she let out a small gasp and immediately started wondering what to do. He was still... but surely he'd be okay, right? He couldn't die that quickly. That wasn't allowed. She didn't have enough medical knowledge to know if there was something she was supposed to do. When he opened his eyes again, she let out a sigh and thanked the heavens.

But the worry never left her eyes. He seemed so out of it, even if he was alive. And then she saw the tears. At first, she thought it was rain. But what kind of rain came from someone's eyes? And it reminded her of her tears the night before. She hugged him, to comfort him, but in actuality she had just comforted herself. Maybe now she could actually comfort him—even if his pain was more physical than mental.

"Miersck?" she called out gently, to see if he could hear her. "Can you understand me? Are you okay?"

He didn't respond.

But he did start to support himself. Without even thinking, she dropped down onto her knees and wrapped her arms around him. Although the hug was a bit tight at first, she quickly loosened it so that she wouldn't hurt him more. No, she wasn't comforting him like she had planned. She was comforting herself.

Her thoughts fluttered by so quickly that not even she could keep track of them. But one phrase kept coming back, again and again. He's okay. He's really okay. And before she knew it, there was rain pouring out from her eyes as well.

Enth stood nearby, observing the spectacle while sniffing the air. The rain was doing him no favors in whatever he was trying to do but soon enough he came to a conclusion, snorting and rubbing his nose. "The woods, bark... no, just... like an old fruit, corpse under the sun..." The monster looked up, tapping his chin with the same hand.

"But not just... Yes. The woods... no... Fae... AH! Oh." He gazed down on them again, frowning. "Magic... Rotten... A curse. He's cursed." The beast concluded, walking around them to try and get a closer look. "You two might want to see the wizard after all. Well, maybe not. Curses are not something to leave alone, though."

OOC: D'aww, such a cute Alycia post. The last two have been great fun to read :3

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Miersck didn't know what to say or do; he was numb to reality as his head was spinning. But then Alycia's arms came around him and he tensed, his body shaking a moment before he suddenly gripped onto her- it was a hug, a hug back, even if he didn't know it, as his mind was still in a frenzy, as was his heart, and water slicking down both of their bodies.

This was only the beginning... and it would only get worse as the day would progress into night. He shivered at what was to come, feeling his blood turning cold as he grit his teeth.

It was only when Enth approached and declared 't he curse' that Miersck suddenly lifted his eyes, nearly jumping out of his skin as he fell back onto his ass, Alycia still in his grasp.

"Wh-what?" And then at the mention of a wizard helping, he bared his teeth and growled. "NO! I'm not going to go to some wizard for help!"
And then in that moment of fury, it broke him from his once miserable state as he realized the rain, the girl... and his red eyes widened as he looked down at Alycia.
"Alycia! Your legs!" But it seemed too late... he swore he saw a tail forming.

OOC: Thnx spicy! I reread some of our old posties and got inspired (that happens every time I read back in this thread... there are just so many emotions)
___________________

IC:

Alycia was glad that Miersck hugged her back. It didn't feel as perfect as their previous hug, but she hardly cared. She hardly processed what Enth had said and probably wouldn't have paid any attention to it if it wasn't for Miersck's reaction.

But then she was practically on top of him and her face was flushed. The only thing that kept her from freaking out even more over their current positioning was her curiosity to why Miersck had freaked out so much in the first place. Was he actually cursed? The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. It would explain the markings on his arm and maybe even why he was trying to get away from everything. But what did the curse do, if he really did have it? Was it the curse that was causing him the pain? And why would he have a curse on him in the first place?

There were just too many unanswered questions.

Miersck called her name out and she returned back to reality and out of her mind. Of course, her sudden attention made her realize, yet again, how close she and him were. Her face was on his chest and when she gazed up, it seemed like his eyes, his cheeks, his lips... his eyes were so close. Her face reddened even more.

And then she reacted to what he said.

Alycia quit looking at his gorgeous face and instead snapped her head back towards her legs. He was right—she was getting a tail. It was still forming, luckily, and hadn't started to merge yet. Unluckily, her feet had turned enough into flippers that she knew she wouldn't be able to walk.

"Umm... can one of you two help me get back inside, please?" asked Alycia shyly. She didn't want to bother Miersck since he had been, and probably was still, in so much pain. At the same time, she didn't know Enth that well. But dragging herself into the house did not seem like the most appealing option.

Ooc: there were probably so many typos from me in those posts XD

---------

Without thinking, Miersck scooped up the girl and brought her inside. He was still breathing heavily as he held her and leaned against the wall.
"Where... Where do you want me to put you?" He asked, his own pain momentarily forgotten, but than another sharp sting of pain struck him as he dropped to his knees, nearly dropping Alycia, but he clung to her tight and buried his face against her shoulder.

OOC: not that I noticed, lol XD

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IC:

Alycia squealed as Miersck picked her up. She was not expecting that. And his breathing was so hard... she didn't want to cause him any pain. But she obviously was, seeing as that he dropped to his knees. She could feel the heat of his breath on her shoulder and ran her hands through his hair in attempt to comfort him.

"Here is fine," she replied, not wanting to make him get up again. "Here is perfect." Alycia smiled hesitantly. She didn't know what to do.

And she wanted to help Miersck. She wanted to get rid of his pain. She wanted to wash away all of his fears. But she didn't know how.

"Thank you, Miersck..." Alycia added, sincerely. "You've helped me so many times." And helping her always seemed to cause him more pain, as in the case with the bear. "I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you." All of her earlier anger had vanished. She was still sad, of course, but now she knew from the bottom of her heart that there was no reason to be mad at him. Only grateful and appreciative. Because, as she knew but somehow kept forgetting, Miersck's grumpiness and bad attitude were only a front for his kind ways. He probably hadn't meant for his denial to sound so harsh, either.

Thankful she didn't want to move, Miersck remained with his face pressed against her, still breathing hard as he collected himself. But he still felt the after effects of the dizzying rush of pain, and took a moment to swallow hard and calm himself, but even in their state, nestled so close together; he knew something un-comforting was creeping up his arm, and curiosity got the better of him as he glanced down to where the wraps hid most of the ugly mark from sight, but even from here,t he edges were evidently darker where his veins were turning black beneath the surface, and his flesh seeming to turn paler by the minute. He blanched and moved his hand to hide it from sight.

Maybe the other two hadn't seen it.

"You don't need to thank me, you would have done the same," he muttered, closing his eyes as he attempted to stand, his muscles tensing as he managed to pull himself to his feet, but not without consequence as another dizzying rush over came him as he stood there, white hair slicked ot his forehead and the world around him spinning, so he simply leaned against the shelving he had been clinging to, his body lightly shaking from exertion.

Enth stepped aside as they moved to enter the den again. His nose wrinkled and he tested the air once more but let it go, scanning their surroundings before following along. Without the task of physically carrying either of them the host made sure that the path was clear, shoving clothes and fallen objects out of the way, occasionally calling out the danger of a shard of glass in Miersck's path. "The bed's in th-- you know where the bed is, my bad."

After they were inside he began tidying up, glancing at them here and there to ensure nothing else was going on. "Need anything? Water? Alcohol for the pain? I don't really store much food besides meat... it'd take some time to cook, anyway." Despite everything, the monster wasn't really prepared for interacting with them, let alone all this. The fellow was on edge but he did his best to make sure it didn't show too much. After all, they had more pressing issues than just his social anxiety.

At Enth's inquiries, Miersck felt as if his head were about to explode, and raked a hand across his face and then through his hair as he wrinkled his nose and bared his teeth, his muscles tense and his body shaking and sweating fierce. He was about to snap at Enth verbally, to tellhim to stop, he was fine, they'd all be fine... but all traces of noises sounded like the wailing shrieks of shrill metal scraping to metal, and then another dizzying spell of pain fell over him,a nd his eyes rolled back,a nd the moth fae suddenly fell to the floor.

"WELL! That's the second person who's fainted in my presence today!"Without hesitation the monster whirled around and sped over to them, trying to pick up Miersck after his collapse. While attempting to do so he shot Alycia an apologetic look. "You're saying you just met him? So this is new to you, too?"

Alycia gasped in horror as Miersck fell to the ground. He looked so, so sick. He was sweating and shaking and it looked even worse than those fevers she had to treat back when she was a slave. And even those fevers looked as if they could take a life.

She was slightly upset about Enth's seemingly lack of caring, but restrained herself from saying anything. After all, he moved to help Miersck. She would've helped as well if it weren't for her inability to move well. She knew she'd be more of a hindrance than anything else if she tried to help. And she hated that feeling.

Caught off guard, Alycia stammered, "Uh, um, yeah. We met... yesterday." Saying that made her realize just how quickly she seemed to fall in love. Well, she was a hopeless romantic and she knew it. "And it's new but..." Alycia was going to explain the strange markings on his arm that she had seen the day before, but then she hesitated. Miersck probably wouldn't appreciate her saying such things. He had been so flustered when she saw it, and she doubted it was information he wanted spread around. And if it really was a curse... well, Alycia decided it was better to stay silent. "... yeah, it's definitely new. The most in pain I've seen him is when he was in the lake." She chuckled, somewhat forcibly.

Though he had fainted, Miesck wasn't entirely gone, though he might has well have been! Their words were lost on him, sounds becoming ghosted and distant, and his mind and body feeling as sweltering hot as the desert, and the pain... like blisters bubbling throughout his muscles, bones and skin. It was too much to take, and it came so intensely that; one second he was on the ground,t he next...

He vomited into the corner before wilting into a deflated heap on the floor, his body shaking as his lids hung low, and his eyes appearing just about ready to roll back inside his head.

It was going to be a very, very long night....

And finally,t he wave of pain had passed, but his body still trembled, his eyes coating over with tears as he remained in a ball, shaking... and only shaking; not only from the pain... but from the fear of what was to come...
For as the moon would begin to rise... things would only go from bad.. to worse.

"A... Alycia.." his voice came out croaked.. his hands reached out, pawing weakly as if seeking hers. "I..... this....... this is only... only the beginning," he said, his voice strained as if the pain was still coursing subtly through his body.

To Miersck's statement their host lifted an eyebrow. He opened his mouth to speak but realized something and soon closed them again, moving out of the way to clean things up. While doing so, he hummed a song again, pensively walking about with a focused look on his face.

Alycia's eyes widened as Miersck called her name and now she knew she had to be him. Her legs were slowly starting to dry off, but not enough that her feet were stable to walk on. So she crawled over to him and grabbed his hands, squeezing them tightly. He had to know that she was there for him.

But what he said was unsettling. It was only the beginning? That implied it would continue getting worse... but if he knew that, did it mean that this had happened to him before? That would also explain how he knew to get outside. Then she wondered if it was doing him more harm by staying inside.

Talking softly and gently, Alycia responded, "Miersck... would it be best for you to go outside again? I can wait inside here until the rain subsides and then I will join you." She paused before adding, "I promise."

For.an eternity, he said.nothing while staring out blankly into the world, his breaths shallow and ragged and his grip, distinguishable on her hand. Then a breath was drawn in as he sighed out, "No, it's alright. I just wanted to hear your voice..."
And just like that, his eyes closed and he was gone.....


Ooc: gone as in, he had his dramatic moment and now he can commit to being passed out   .
Also! Congrats zozee on getting over a thousand posts!

While they interacted Enth stood back, stroking his beard thoughtfully. The man was done with tidying up in little time but instead of returning to his usual spot he distanced himself from them and paced back and forth, an absent look on his face. A moment of this and his lips twitched downwards. "...Jeez, I'd be a terrible doctor..." The man ran a hand back through his hair while pausing. His other hand toyed with the brim of his vest.

OOC: Thanks Spicy! You know I was SUPER excited. XD :)

IC:

Tears were running down her face again, but Alycia hardly noticed. She was too busy grasping his hands and whispering his name over and over and over again until she knew for sure that he wasn't going to answer.

With his hands still in hers, she turned to Enth and asked, "How is he? Can we fix whatever is wrong? Should we go to the village?" The more she talked, the more wavery her voice got. That's when she processed that she was crying. So she wiped off her tears with her arm and kept looking between Miersck and Enth, completely unaware of what she should be doing.

"I don't know. Maybe! Probably. A glamour would do us good, but I'm sure there has to be someone who's understanding. I was just thinking- it doesn't look like a curse I've ever seen before. Nor does it smell like one I'm familiar with. So, while I have some pain remedies here, I can't say he can be helped here." The stranger looked on while Alycia broke down, the corners of his lips twitching.

"Like I said before, maybe we could speak with the wizard... He might know what to do."

"The wizard... The wizard the wizard the wizard," Alycia repeated, getting louder and more confident each time. "Yes, the wizard. We can see if he would help." She paused to look at Miersck. He looked as if he was in so much pain, even though he was unconscious.

"But you said the wizard might be dangerous. I can't put him in danger. Or you. I can go to the wizard. And I can glamour... just myself, though. He'll see through it, right? That's what you said. But my magic is strong. Maybe he wouldn't. Maybe he wouldn't see through it." She wiped her eyes again. Her vision had gotten too blurry. And she couldn't think straight.

Alycia closed her eyes and flipped her hair so that it was all laying on her back. She thought about the ocean. The calm, cool water. The place where she couldn't be hurt. And she took deep breaths.

"No, I have to go," Alycia finally said, strongly. "But I'll go alone. That way neither or you would be in danger. If he sees through my glamour, so what. I can improvise. But I have to go... for Miersck. After all, he already saved my life."

By the time she had made her decision,t he moth fae had awoken. He had heard most of the conversation in his half unconscious state, and at he words, his hand suddenly squeezed her.
"N-no.." he murmured, wrinkling his nose in pain as he turned to her. "I'll go with you." This was his curse after all. ANd she was a mermaid, a rare find. She shouldn't go alone.

Alycia actually jumped when Miersck squeezed her hand. She had been so in her own thoughts that she had even forgotten that they were holding hands. And, she realized, she had been clutching his hands way too tightly.

Loosening her grip, she was tempted to just lean down and give him a hug. But she didn't want to hurt him more, as she was starting to wonder if her previous hug had done. So instead, her maternal instincts, which were practically the same as her slave instincts, kicked in.

She leaned over him and actually planted a kiss on his soft, warm forehead as she had done before. Then, looking straight into his eyes, she firmly responded, "No. I can't let you risk it. Not with you like this, especially." Alycia realized that she may not have come out as convincing as she wanted too. Her eyes were still swollen and red from crying, after all.

When she leaned over, kissin ghis forehead, he visibly tensed, and his lips fell open. Then as she pulled away, his face heated, first in embarassment, then in rage. He was sitting up now and glared back at her.
"Do you really think I'd let you go alone?" he said, gritting his teeth as he continued to yell. "WHen you're going to risk going into town.. for me?"

Alycia's mouth widened. She was totally unprepared for his outburst. But why would she be? He was always like this. Even when being nice he was being mean.

But instead of being upset or annoyed, she was genuinely happy. If he was fighting her, at least he was back to his normal senses. And he was sitting up. That was a plus. Whether or not Miersck would appreciate the smile spreading across her face would be debatable.

Either way, she knew he wouldn't let her win the argument. She had learned about his stubbornness the second she met him. So with a wave of her hand, she merely replied, "Fine, fine, come along if you wish." He could come to the town. But then she'd make sure he ended up lost as she went to confront the wizard, alone.

Miersck blinked at her off-handed comment, just waving away the idea without a fuss. He hadn't realized he had been breathing hard until he finally caught his breath and simply stared at her, blinking some more.
"Yeah well.." he said, wings itching as he continued to attempt to try to pick a fight (afte rall, he was itching all over from his soreness of mind and body). "You'll need me to help keep you safe." ANd he set his jaw, which appeared a bit pouty as he grew a little quieter and added, "Don't forget I can cast that illusion spell."

All the good it did the first time...
Hopefully, there'd be no more rain...

Alycia laughed. Apparently her sudden acceptance caught him off guard. And he was so protective...

"You can come!" she repeated, smiling. Then, slowing down and looking at him more seriously, she added, "Are you sure you're fine to go, though. I don't want you to be in pain... especially if I could have avoided it." Her eyes made their way to the ground as she remembered the bear incident again. There was no way she'd let him get hurt for her sake.

Miersck set his jaw again, this time with more determination written on his face.
"The pain will come if it comes. I don't have a choice over it," he practically growled. Then, as his wings twitched irritably, he felt himself crawling all over to just be done with this.
"But if we're going to go we need to go now."
ANd he moved to re-take her hand and pulled her towards the door. "I don't want to be caught out there under another one of those spells.."

Despite all of her will, Alycia could not help but blush when Miersck grabbed her hand and pulled her alongside him. She wondered if he even realized he was doing it.

"Ah... yes... let's go..." she mumbled. Then she silently prayed to whatever god was listening that Miersck would make it through the night without another spell. Reaching the door, Alycia looked out and smiled. "Well, at least the rain stopped! Should I cover myself with an illusion spell? Just in case anyone is looking for us?"

Miersck shook his head as he guided her towards the city.
"No, you won't need it," he said, and paused a moment to draw in a careful breath. "now just.. just wait there a moment." He said, then concentrated. "I have to get rid of my wings."
And closing his eyes a moment, he felt a pang of pain a moment, but after he released a breath, she'd watch his wings fade away.

Opening his eyes, he felt a bit dizzy, and found himself needing to lean against Alycia a moment before he was able to fight that off. With a shake of his head, he turned to her and nodded.
"There." And he took her hand again. "Come on, let's go."

Alycia watched in wonder as his wings disappeared again. She wondered if that's what people saw when she changed her appearance. She also, strangely enough, noticed that he looked different without his wings. Less mischievous, in a way. Maybe that was just because he still looked ill.

His fingers wrapping around hers, however, got her out of her thoughts. She walked beside him in silence for a few seconds before asking, "How far away from the town are we, anyway?" After all, she was unconscious on the way over to the odd man's house.

Miersck was moving fast as he guided Alycia away with him, towards the town by taking the muddy road.
"It wasn't that far. Just beyond that cove of trees. See?" and he pointed towards where even he could see the tops of buildings from the city, and the stone wall surrounding it, coming into view.
"Come on. We'll have to be quick and discrete."

Soon the pair approached the city walls, and no one questioned, and barely anyone lifted their heads to a couple of teens entering the small town, but once inside, Miersck realized, with a frown, the place was a lot bigger than he thought.

To the south, a great wind mill was spinning and casting the entire place in long animated shadows, and before it was a series of houses, then a church, towering in the center. Beside that, something like a school, and even closer to where Miesck now stopped was a fountain in the town square.

"Great Acorn Tree Roots... this place is huge," he whispered under his breath, red eyes taking in and his lips gaping at the scene. "Where should we even begin? Do we ask around... or.. just start knocking on these doors?" He sheepishly rubbed at the back of his neck, feeling his wings tense and, for a moment, he glanced around to ensure the spell was still working and no one could see.

Alycia was just as surprised by the size of the town as Miersck was. She could have sworn it looked smaller earlier... then again, she was also running from a beast that she thought was going to eat them. So it was probably just in her own head.

Turning towards Miesck and smiling, she responded, "To the library!" Then she lifted up their joint hands into the air, as if declaring some sort of imaginary victory. "Which, if this is set up like most towns, should be in the middle... Plus, libraries are hard to miss!"

Not knowing what else to do, she just started walking forward, following the path that they entered on.

Blinking, Miersck blushed at Alycia's enthusiasm and suddenly found himself being dragged off by Alycia, who now took the lead.
"Er.. but do you even know if there is a library, or what it'd look like?" Although the second he said it, he noted a building just behind the church with a metal sculpture of an open book infront of it and mounted just above it's tall doors. Blinking, Miersck found himself gaping at it before giving Alycia's arm a tug.
"Hey, I think that might be it! Come on!" ANd it was his turn to pull her along behind him.

Alycia laughed at Miersck's quick change from disbelief to enthusiasm. She she just ran along beside him until they reached the building that he saw. Which was, as he expected, a library.

Flashing a quick grin over at Miersck, Alycia let go of his hand and walked in. In fact, she kept walking until she was right at the desk.

"Excuse me," Alycia started, an innocent smile on her face. "Can you please point me to where one of these books would be? The Misty Ways of Transformations, Sanky Spells, and Magic Muses?"

The librarian simply looked back at her, expressionless, before finally responding, "We don't have those."

"Oh no, I'm afraid I need them now. Do you know anyone who might have them? Please?"

After a brief pause, he responded, "Maybe Grizzle. But I wouldn't go near him... he lives by the bakery. You couldn't miss his house. But don't tell him I sent you."

"Grizzle?" Miersck made a face as the pair of them left the library. "The man sounds like a bear.." the boy muttered beneath his breath. "Well, at least we know where to find him." And he looked her over, wanting to comment on how clever she was, but found himself holding his tongue before he turned his way.

"So the bakery.." he said, clearing this throat. "I wonder where that is...?" And as they walked, he was still holding her hand, taking the lead.

"Bear?" repeated Alycia, curiously. "It reminds me of pancakes... because of syrup... because you drizzle the syrup on the pancakes..." Her voice trailed off as she realized how ridiculous she must sound.

With a short cough, she spoke up. "I have no idea... maybe we can ask someone?" But as she looked around, she realized that the town was eerily silent. As if everyone was hiding indoors... in fact, the only person that she had seen in the library was the librarian himself. Strange.

Miersck, not entirely getting the reference, found himself blinking as his face twisted quizzically.
"Pancakes? I don't think I follow what you're saying. Is that food from the ocean?" He never heard or had such a thing before! But then his wings twitched as he sensed something unseen settle over them. And he blinked around, searching for something and realized...
"Hey... does it seem strange to you nobody is in town?" He gave her a nudge.
"Look- no one is outside... do you think because it rained no one wants to come out?" Peering up at the sky, it was still grey and over cast, but the threat of rain had long passed. Even still, it was so odd! And a cold wind blew through the alley they were walking, and he gripped her hand tighter as he shivered and stepped nearer to her for warmth.

Alycia couldn't help but laugh at Miersck's lack of knowledge of the most delectable breakfast food there was! But his following comments quieted her. Maybe she wasn't paranoid for thinking it was strange that the town was empty...

Without even realizing it, she tightened her grip on his hand as well. She was going to give him her cape until she realized that, well, she didn't have her cape anyway. It was technically still wrapped around his injuries.

"I doubt it..." Alycia responded with a sigh. "It probably has to do with the wizard. Or with some sort of magic, at least. I wonder... should we climb up somewhere? The librarian made it sound as if the magician's house was easy to recognize. So if we're on top of a building, we should be able to spot it, right? Not like anyone is here to think we're strange, anyway..." Goosebumps ran up along her arms as another gust of wind blew through. This place was giving her the creeps.

"To a roof top?" Miersck blinked. "There's no problem with that, since I can fly but er.." Here, he felt his wings tense upon his back. They were still a bit sore from all that has happened, and also- what if someone were to catch him using them? That would definitely draw some unwanted attention.

"We could just ask around.." he said, half muttering it as he continued, pulling her along beside him. "I mean no one is around but.... I don't know. I still feel as if we're being watched."

Alycia paused, not quite understanding Miersck's words. But after a couple of seconds, it clicked. "I meant climb up! There must be a ladder somewhere, right? We wouldn't need to use your... wings." She said the last word quietly, in case there really was someone listening.

"But we could just wander... or we could go in somewhere. Maybe someone would be inside. After all, they have to be somewhere..." But everything still felt unsettling. Although she wouldn't say it, she felt as if something bad would happen. She glanced over at Miersck, wondering if maybe she should say that. After all, the situation definitely was suspicious.

Miersck gave a grumpy sigh. He wasn't exactly sure what they ought to do, but grumbled, "Let's just stay on the ground for now." But after nearly half an hour later yielding no results, he found himself frowning. "Broken Acorns.. I could have sworn we had come around this way." Little did he know, the wizard was messing wit them and intentionally having the pair go in circles, rather than be able to find his location which was right under their noses!
"Maybe we should try asking for help.."
But again, no one could be seen since the streets were still vacant.

Alycia sighed and grumbled, "This is pointless. We have gone this way before—three times! This is so ridiculous. We both have illusion magic, yet we're both being outdone by this wizard. What other explanation is there?"

She stopped walking and instead sat on the ground, pulling Miersck down with her. "Let's take a break... my feet are sore. And then we can think. Surely there is some way to break whatever kind of spell this is?  Or at least some way to get the wizard to stop trying this trick?" After all, it wasn't like he was fooling with them for nothing. He wanted something, and seemed to just be playing with them.

Miersk, irked that he realized too late they were being tricked, growled and cursed beneath his breath before dropping to sit angrily beside Alycia.
"So if this wizard is really playing with us, whose to say he'd really be able to help? It seems more like he wants to draw us away or scare us off within his own ploy than anything," the moth fae grumbled. He felt himself growing tired, and for a moment, almost let his own illusion magics falter- not realizing that as his own was faltering- so was the magic of the wizard as his shop flickered into view, and was gone. But Miersck was too angered to see it as he grumbled and stared down at the cobble stone.
"Should we just give up?" Miersck hadn't a clue, and really, had little patience for such things.

"No!" Alycia shouted in response, looking straight into Miersck's eyes. "We can't give up!" That was one of the many lessons she learned through being a slave... and was even more reinforced when she was freed. "Once we give up, we're defeated."

She sighed and looked up at the sky, unsure of what to do. But then she looked back down.

"Hey... was that there before?" she asked hesitantly, pointing at the shop. But she knew it wasn't. She would have noticed.

The shop was overwhelmingly large compared to the other houses around it. It looked dirty and rundown as well as, well, ancient. The big, black door slowly opened itself in silence. Chills ran down her back and Alycia suddenly got the feeling that they shouldn't be there. That they should run.

But she couldn't run. She knew that. She had to stay for Miersck—who, she just realized, she had scooted closer to in her fear. With a deep breath, she stood up and reached out her hand to help him up. Though, while she wouldn't admit it, she really just needed his hand to get rid of the slowly growing feeling of discomfort in her gut.

At the sight of the door, Miersck found his lips falling open, staring at the thing in shock, and it wasn't until he felt Alycia's hand within his own did he come out of.his stupor. Hesitantly, he found himself rising to his feet and an unhealthy curiosity leading him forward towards to door, as if he were drawn towards a flame, yet the moth fae said nothing as he crept ever closer and it wasn't until he felt himself in the cold shadows of the.building and its magic did he sense something was off, and before he could tear himself away from it or warn Alycia, the pair of them were gripped onto by unseen magics and dragged inside the darkness and who knew how many hours later it was when Miersck awoke, his body in chains.

Groaning, he peered around and.tried to make sense of this, but all he could see was poor.Alycia inside a giant glass filled with water- and she, completely transformed into a mermaid while a man who looked like half a mole was.fondeling over her as he watched.the man send a.jolt of.magic in attempts to.awaken the girl. And that's when Miersck snapped and fought against the chains that bound him, but it was to no avail as Miersck's body remained confined to chains on a bed of rock.
"Let her go!" He managed to snarl out, chains rattling as be fought against them. And it was only then the mole man looked his way and his whiskery beard gave a twitch.
"Ahh, the fae awakens," he cackled as he climbed down from Alycia's tank to approach him. "Did you sleep good?"

Miersck cut a glare his way before finally.stopping.his struggles against the chains.
"Let us go!" He demanded, which was of no.surprise to.the wizard who merely shook his head.

"An impossible task you see, for you both are now specimens of the infamous Dallock Bloom." And at the introduction of his name, the man bowed and ttransformed himself into a youthful blond young man in robes as he grinned down atMiersck and patted his head. "Why would I let such rare creatures go? After all, your kind was meant to be extinct.. and mermaids are nearly impossible to.find outside of the ocean!"

"If you don't let us go, ill -". But Dallock'.s laughing cut him off.
"Or you'll do WHAT? In case you havent noticed, the pair of you are locked in enchanted chains!" And at thst, Miersck's eyes went wide when he realized Alyicia was in chainssm, too!

A warm feeling flooded Alycia's body, and she did everything she could to fight it. She wanted to keep sleeping. But the feeling changed from warm to tingly to painful as it continued to wake up her senses. And then she heard Miersck shouting.

Alycia's eyes shot open and she she did everything she could to not shout. She knew that would make things worse. After all, she had been victim to chains and imprisonment before. Her mind got engulfed by those static memories of when she was first captured, and before long she almost forgot where she was. Then her lips started bleeding from the pressure put on it by her teeth and she snapped back to reality.  Those were memories best left forgotten—because while the family she got bought by wasn't the cruelest, the slave capturers were. And they didn't even know she was a mermaid.

But this man obviously did.

Both her arms and the bottom of her tail were chained, making it impossible to do any real movement. She was surrounded by water which, if nothing else, was at least clean. The water was contained by glass, which was the only real blessing in this situation.

At least she had a plan for her own escape. But how would she get Miersck free? And how could she stay free once she got out of the case? There were too many holes. So she just silently watched, hoping he wouldn't harm Miersck and hoping that something would happen to allow their escape.

Miersck only calmed down enough to growl, but it was evident by the way he was braced in his chains that if he could rip himself out of there, he certainly would.
"What do you want from us?" the moth fae growled, and the wizard only grinned, seeing how he had the fae now mostly under his control, he stood up now and tsked at the pair.

"Naturally, neither of you know of me or my reputation or you would have done well to stay out, but since you both are here, you must come to realize I have no like for other creatures of such magic, and have kept myself in this village to be rid of beings such as yours- but even I can not help my own curiosity, for two rare species such as you two are definitely something worth keeping, if you catch my drift..."

Miersck growled and struggled against the chains.
"So you aim to keep us here?"

The Bloom wizard laughed.
"Something of that sort. Though I must say, I'll have to be clever in the way I use you both- after all, I'm no fool, and i know moth fae are quite rare. What was it to be known? That your wings, when ground up, might be able to heal even something as unbelievable as blindness?"

Miersck, angered that the man would want to exploit the pair, fought again against his chains while Dallock only laughed.

"Keep fighting, it won't do either of you any good."A nd he turned towards he mermaid and grinned to see her awake.
"Good morning, sunshine," he told her with a bit of a leer. "And what a pretty mermaid you are. Do you have a name?"

Miersck was pissed.
"You don't have to tell him anything!" he said furiously, still fighting and bucking against the chains, though it was to no avail. "She's not going to be your slave, and neither am I!"

Miersck's shouting only helped keep Alycia quiet. It was clear that the man didn't care about their pain. After all, they were locked in chains. But if he did want slaves... well, she could deal with that.

She hated the way he looked at her and spoke to her, but she kept her voice and gaze strong. "Alycia," she replied honestly. "But that's all you're going to get out of me unless you let him free. You can't control me—I can promise you that much. And I can make it so you can't sell me. The more ruined the product, the less the worth, correct?"

She knew she was taking a risk. A serious risk. But given the situation, she had to do something. And the only one she could hurt by saying that was herself, right? She sure hoped so.

She was just about to say more when a little boy—no older than eight—walked into the room. He didn't seem surprised by the scene in front of him, and she couldn't help but wonder if he was a son or a slave. But as he walked up to the man, her curiosity was quickly answered. While the front of the boy seemed normal enough, he had a crocodile tail. And, upon more inspection, stitches all over his body.

Apparently the wizard captured kids as well.

When the child came in,t he man hissed and stood before him.
"Ethan, what did I tell you about entering without knocking? Can't you see I have guests?"

Blinkingly, the young child peered over towards the others before looking up at Dallock.

"I'm sorry Dallock, but I was hungry.."

Growling, the wizard shook a fist. "Then go make yourself some cereal! Honestly, you are getting old enough to care for it on your own!" But then the wizard was taken back, as the child ignored him to stare in awe at the...

"Oh, pretty mermaid!" And when the boy touched the glass, the wizard screamed out, "NO! That's the hidden button-" and suddenly 'tank' around Alycia 'vanished'a nd the room flooded with water.  A moment later, the stitched up kid wagged his little crocodile tail and muttered a sheepish, "Sorry." Before lowering his head.

"Ethan! Honestly! If we weren't brothers I'd flog you for that!"

And the poor little boy looked about ready to cry
"But  I just wanted to see the pretty mermaid!"

And with a groan, Dallock rubbed at his brow, not really in the mood to quell his brother's tears as he was working at wringing out his soggy clothing.

Alycia gasped as the tank disappeared and she fell to the ground. It definitely hurt to fall so suddenly, but she was more worried about whether or not Miersck got wet. He hated the water so much... and the situation had already been bad enough. Then again, her plan had originally been to break the tank anyway, so it wasn't like the situation was much different.

In fact, she realized it was better.

They were brothers? Dallock, the wizard, seemed to care for Ethan, the hybrid. And if Ethan cared about her... well, she could use that. "Pretty mermaid?" Alycia repeated as innocently as she could. "Well that's rather sweet of you! Would you like to touch the pretty mermaid's tail? I promise you it feels really cool... probably like that dashing little tail you have there."

"Really? I can?" Ethan's mood seemed to perk up as his large eyes sparkled, but someone else seemed much less happy for it as Miersck rattled and fought against his chains.

"Don't let that thing touch you, Alycia! You don't know if this is a trap!" the moth fae exclaimed.

"Trap?" Dallock made a face. "You've already walked into that one." And he gave a roll of his eyes. "And Ethan wouldn't hurt a fly." Really, honestly- his brother wouldn't. He was just to...nice and naive.


OOC: Wow, sorry to make you wait for such a short post XD
feel free to control Ethan

Ethan seemed hesitant to move when the moth fae started shouting, but he went ahead and touched Alycia's tail after she gave him a reassuring smile. His eyes went wide when he realized that her tail was incredibly smooth in spite of the scales. She looked at Miersck with such fierceness that her wish for him to stay quiet was conveyed without words.

Ethan peered up at his older brother and exclaimed, "It's so smooth!" He frowned and added, "Unlike my stinky tail. It's all rough and scratchy. I wish I had a mermaid tail... but I suppose I would need to be in water all the time then."

Alycia didn't actually have to be in water all the time, but she didn't mention that. That was partially because it seemed pointless, and partially because she had just realized that without the tank, her tail was drying out and would be bare legs before too long.

"Great, now you've touched her tail, Ethan, now get away from there and go finish making food, or whatever it was you were doing. Can't you see I'm busy and have got guests?" Dallock said haughtily.

"Guests!?" Miersck growled, fighting against his chains as he rattled them with anger. "We're like prisoners, you loon! Now let us out!" and the moth fae gave a few angered grunts before he was silenced by Ethan's sudden gasp.

"Oh! Look at his pretty wings!" And as Ethan waddled his way over to Miersck's side, the moth fae cringed.

"H-hey! What are you doing? Don't you dare touch my wings!" Miersck snapped, though despite his vicious behavior, Ethen knew the moth fae was chained down tight, and the boy's curiosity got the better of him as he reached out and...
Touched the powdery soft wings with a gasp.

"His wigns are soft too!" And retracting his arm, he stared down at the powder upon his fingers. "And is strange to.. they're full of powder!"

Alycia looked in horror as the boy wandered over to Miersck to touch his wings. She was pretty sure that that was the very last thing he wanted someone to touch—especially a curious little boy. She hadn't thought fast enough to catch Ethan's attention before touching Miersck's wings, but she had an idea as to how.

"Ethan!" she shouted over to him. "If you come over here, I'll tell you a secret."

"A secret?" The boy asked, turning Alycia's way. "Oh, about the fairy's wings?"

At being called a fairy, Miersck wrinkled his nose.
"WHAT!? I am not a fairy!" and he rattled his chains some more in protest. "Just let me out of this thing! Or you'll be sorry!"

Dallock only rolled his eyes and picked at some wax inside his ear.
"Really, you're going to make me deaf. And Ethan.." he narrowed a gaze on the boy. "Leave these two alone. This affair need not concern you!"

"But I like them! It's been a while since we've had guests!"

"Guests!?" Miersck griped, before his face turned bright red in anger. He tried to find his chains again. "Were not guests. We're prisoners!"

Alycia ignored all the shouting going on around her and instead kept her eyes trained on Ethan. "No, not about the fairy wings. But I think you'll like it even more." She could see the curiosity in his eyes and knew she had him hooked. The little boy waddled over to her, ignoring the order of his older brother.

Smiling, she motioned (as best as she could with the chains around her wrist) for him to come closer to her. Propping herself up, Alycia whispered to him in the crocodilian language. The look of his tail gave her the impression that he was, in fact, part crocodile and that it wasn't added by surgery. Even still, she wasn't positive that he'd be able to understand her.

But apparently he did.

Ethan turned around, smiled at his brother, and waddled right out of the room. Alycia sent a worried glance over at Miersck, but quickly replaced it with a smile. She had to play strong.

Dallock gaped at Alycia before storming over to her.
"What did you say to him?"

And upon seeing Dallock approach Alycia, Miersck snarled.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" and he fought and rattled more against his chains. But Dallock ignored him, his eyes focused on the mermaid.

"It seems you possess some.. magics or knowledge I'm not aware of about mermaids."A nd that part was what irked him the  most. Lucky for her, he began to warm up to another idea. Perhaps he should keep these two around- to do some more... conclusive studies, and thoughtfully, he rubbed a thumb against his chin.

Alycia looked the man straight in his eyes. It took all of her spirit to not wince or even start to cry, but she knew she couldn't. She had to be strong.

"I didn't do anything special," she said, her voice somehow managing not to waver. "I just told him to go and get food... for himself and for stray dog wandering outside. And before you ask, no there isn't a dog. But I'm guessing you didn't want your poor brother to see whatever torturous things you're going to put us through? He doesn't know about your plans and experiments, does he?"

Dallock's eyes narrowed into slits.
"Ha! Goes to show how much you know. Whoever said I'd waste my time experimenting on you?" Though he turned away and threw up his arms impatiently. "It seems the jig might be up. I keep on the front to deter other mages and the like from pestering me. I do... research, but not the kind you're thinking about. Though if you try my nerves, don't think I won't hesitate to change my mind!"

Miersck growled.
"I'll change your mind if you lay one hand on her!" The moth fae barked. "Let us go and I won't-"

"Won't do what?" Dallock laughed. "Last time I checked you were a little tied up!"

Alycia glared at Miersck and very clearly mouthed, "SHUT. UP.". Didn't he get that she wanted him to stay quiet?! That him shouting was only going to worsen their situation?! That she was trying to do something?!

After taking another deep breath, she looked back at Dallock. "Fine. Then what kind of research do you do? Don't sugarcoat it—I'll know if you're lying. And it's not like we can run, anyway. You have us chained up. So at least let us know our fates?"

Dallock snorted.
"There's no way to sugar coat experiments. But for those vile creatures I do not like- it can be... rather painful," he said with a sniff. "But being as you're... intelligent.. " (well intelligent enough..). "And alive, I tend to be a bit more.... humane."

Miersck, if he had caught what Alycia was mouthing, didn't show it as he continued to growl and pull at his chains.
"Just wait until I get out of these chains! You'll be sorry!"

Dallock sighed and shook his head.
"I think you'd be more sorry than I. But really, what were the pair of you two doing looking for me?"

"What?" Miersck barked out his question as his face twisted quizzically. His hands tightened into fists as he struggled again. "Why do you care? You seem to only have one thing in mind anyways!" Miersck shouted defiantly.

Alycia was just about ready to yell at Miersck but then Dallock's question came. All her frustration was replaced with uncertainty and fear... who knew how long it would be until something happened to him again. If he went through another painful experience like that, surely the wizard would have his interest piqued even more.

But maybe he could help.

No, she couldn't say anything. Clearly Miersck didn't want her to, and the risk was too great. They would have to find him help elsewhere. But she had been silent for two long, and now Dallock was staring at her. Alycia knew she wouldn't be able to pretend like it was an accident.

"I'll tell you if you tell us what you're going to do. Like an information exchange."

Dallock rolled his eyes.
"You mean to play a game?" He scoffed. "Please, I doubt there is any information either of you could have that could appeal to me. Why, at this very moment I could be disintegrating the pair of you into nothing and then- oh my god, what the hell is your companion doing is he about to-"

And just like that, Miersck suddenly fell into another fit lke he had earlier, body trembling, skin going pale, and illness growing, twisting, rising in his gut, until he could not hold it back and found himself retching all over himself. ANd Dallock just stared, gapingly.

"Gods... ugh, what did he eat? He reeks of old sandwiches!" With a snap of his fingers, he called out to his brother. "Ethan! Ethan! Quick! Return here with some buckets! We have a moth fae to clean up!"
And then turning back to Mierskc, he made a face. "What is wrong with him? Did he bring in here some sort of plague?" And the man took a step back out of fear. Ick. The last thing he wanted to do was to catch whatever disease this winged boy had!

A little while after Dallock called for Ethan, he appeared—trying to hold three empty buckets and a blanket as he walked towards Alycia. Her eyes, however, were pasted on Miersck. Well there went their plan of pretending nothing was wrong.

She knew she had to make a decision; should she tell Dallock the truth or let him believe Miersck had some sort of spreadable plague? The truth might be able to get him help from the wizard, but the plague might be able to get them out of the place. She didn't trust him... but was there truly another choice?

Ethan dropped the blanket on Alycia's lap and tilted his head. Wrinkling his nose, he asked, "Why does it smell so disgusting?"

"Ethan! The buckets! Here!" called Dallock. He was confused why his younger brother had grabbed a blanket for the mermaid, but that was not his biggest worry. Starting directly at the young girl, he demanded, "What is wrong with your companion?!"

Alycia spread the blanket over her tail and watched as Ethan waddled over to hand the buckets to his older brother. Miersck was still writhing in pain, and she knew she had to tell the truth. "I... I don't know. I was hoping you could help him. That's why we came."